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GREENWOOD Dist. — A young student from the Virgin Islands, Gimel, stood 5’2” against the brick building in front of ONEOK field and the Pathway to Hope. She held up a photo given to her by Chief Enguwale Amusan, our Black Wall Street tour guide that showed a little girl peeking over to the photographer from behind the same wall. The difference was breathtakingly grave.
A highway now blocks what used to be the bustling streets that house black commerce. The only thing still standing in its path was Vernon AME Church. This was just one of the many core memories the National Association of Black Journalists created at their immersive, educational conference.
Through the help of The Terrence Crutcher Foundation, Justice for Greenwood, the Oklahoma Eagle and Report for America, the NABJ Region III Conference was beyond successful.
11 states gathered together to fellowship, network, and learn more about Tulsa’s history.
“As an individual participant, it has been phenomenal, impactful to get to see some of these things and touch and feel the movement of Tulsa is like really being within the heart of the city,” NABJ President Ken Lemon said.
Day One of NABJ Region III’s Conference
Greenwood Rising Museum
The Region III Conference opened with a career Luncheon. The Oklahoma Eagle and Report for America spoke with applicants about job opportunities in the journalism field. Then, a shuttle took the majority of attendees to the new Greenwood Rising Museum, where Mary Williams led a tour. She said she grew up in Greenwood during the urban removal (not renewal) of the neighborhood after the Massacre. She said some of the survivors were her teachers.
At the museum, Black journalists went from the lighthearted nature of the barbershops in Greenwood after reading about the founding fathers of Black Wall Street to the bombing and fiery destruction that followed. Then they trailed through the hall of the rebuilding of Greenwood and Williams gave a summary of chronicling history.
Williams mentioned the legacy of O.W. Gurley, one of the great founders of the Greenwood District, dubbed the Black Wall Street by Booker T. Washington. She also mentioned that of the 35,000 museums in the United States, there are only 100 museums dedicated to telling the Black American story.
“You are living museums,” she told the NABJ crowd.
Williams helped chronicle the history of a buffalo soldier. Then she went as far as to chronicle the history that Dick Rowland was an innocent, never convicted, man. In U.S. and Oklahoma records, it speaks of the man who was often blamed for the massacre that was caused by a White mob and Klansmen.
Victor Luckerson then sold copies of his book, “Built From the Fire: The Epic Story of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, America’s Black Wall Street”, and gave a summary of the rebuilding of Greenwood told through survivors such as the Goodwins owners of the historic, Black-owned newspaper the Oklahoma Eagle.
Circle Cinema Event Sponsored by the Terence Crutcher Foundation
Shortly after, a shuttle transported the NABJ crew to Circle Cinema. The “National Association of Black Journalists” was presented on the outside marquee, seemingly welcoming the Black journalists who chose to attend the event.
Inside the theater, the Terence Crutcher Foundation showed a private screening of the History Channel’s “Tulsa Burning, the 1921 Massacre”. The Terence Crutcher Foundation was one of the major sponsors of this year’s regional conference.
“The media has gotten us through our journey with the tragic killing of my twin brother Terence Crutcher,” Dr. Tiffany Crutcher, the C0-Founder and Executive Director of the Terence Crutcher Foundation, said to the group of journalists.
“It was because of you all that we were able to amplify our story and get it out to the nation. I remember Martin Luther King saying that all we have is the media. That’s been our biggest weapon.”
Notably, Dr. Crutcher’s family are direct descendants of survivors; her grandmother, Rebecca Brown Crutcher, survived.
After the screening, there was a talkback with Attorney Damario Solomon Simmons. Both he and Crutcher talked about the recent unfortunate verdict with the Justice for Greenwood Campaign’s lawsuit for the two last known living survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre against the City of Tulsa and three other defendants. That case is currently under review by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. In addition, they also discussed the recent Betty Shelby federal case dismissal, for which they plan to file an appeal.
“Tell our story about Justice for Greenwood,” Solomon Simmons said. “Tell our story about real descendants. Do not allow the White-washing to continue. We need you to advocate for our dignity and rights.”
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Day Two of NABJ Region III’s Conference
Exploring Greenwood: A Journey Through Black History and Resilience
On day two of the conference, the shuttle transported participants to a tour of the historic Greenwood District, which was sponsored by the Justice for Greenwood organization. A tour of the District was led by local historian and author Chief Enguwale Amusan.
“Greenwood is part of the fabric of our Black history. As journalists, we are historians, knowing and understanding that means a lot,” Lemon said.
Chief Amusan shared a rich history that he wrote in his book, “America’s Black Wall Street.” How it went from 40 blocks to 4 blocks. He shared the stories of O.W. Gurley, JB Stratfor, A.J. Smitherman, Bulk Colbert Franklin, and more. He spoke about how White hate and intimidation kept people from talking about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre for decades.
“Consistently, we have seen hate win,” Lemon said. “I don’t think anyone else of any other color faces the same problems that we’re facing now. Because it reaffirms today the lack of empathy some people have with the plight of Black folks. That’s why it’s important that Black journalists are out there now.”
Anthony Council was an attendee of the conference. He’s been a member since 2019. It was his first regionals after attending two conventions in the nation and said what was most beneficial was the closeness of it all.
“The conference was very connected, very close-knit. It was small yet large at the same time,” Council said. “I think my favorite part was the people. Networking with people who are in the industry. You feel more connected in the conference than you may at the [national] convention.”
Panel Discussions, Awards Ceremony, and Celebrating Leadership
The shuttle then transported NABJ participants to the Tulsa Community College Metro Campus, where they attended panel discussions. Sessions included “Journalism Jumpstart: College Strategies for a Thriving Media Career”, “Mastering Social Media as a Journalist,” “A.I.: Threat or Tool,” and “Building and Sustaining Your Own Business.”
“I learned to speak the truth, even if it may hurt sometimes, speak the truth when it comes to the story because it’s all we got, and there’s power in the pen,” Council said.
Later that evening, NABJ hosted the Region III Ma’at Awards.
Honors included recipients from Tulsa, Atlanta, Florida, and Texas.
Gary Lee, from the Oklahoma Eagle, delivered the keynote address, captivating the audience with the sheer power of his personal narrative.
NABJ-Tulsa wrapped up the evening by hosting a function at the Mayo Hotel, where they honored Region Three Director Eva Coleman for her leadership and hard work organizing such an amazing conference.
“It’s important that we are talking about the everyday plight of people and black communities, through the lens of people, black people, so nobody ever forgets that we are part of the human experience,” Lemon said. “That is the kind of thing that breaks down walls and forces people to be empathetic to what happens to people in those communities.”