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By BWSTimes Staff
TULSA, Okla. — The Black Wall Street Times will host mayoral candidate Greg Robinson for an exclusive and historic Town Hall event tonight on Facebook at 7 PM CST.
Facebook viewers will be able to pose questions for Robinson directly in the comment section, which, if selected, will be streamed live onto the broadcast.
Greg announced his historic candidacy for Mayor of Tulsa today at the Tulsa County Election Board — a year out from the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
The son of an activist and an accountant, Greg Robinson, II attacks injustice with passion and precision. Like his late father — Greg Robinson, Sr. did for decades in the Tulsa community, Greg is unafraid to speak up for the oppressed and underserved. However, it is his mother (Debra Kawee Goff Robinson) whose strength and selflessness, despite her physical limitations, inspire Greg’s work the most.
A proud Tulsa native, Greg is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School where relationships with teachers and mentors like Dr. Anthony Marshall, pushed him to cultivate his capacity to create change. At Booker T., Greg assisted in founding The Men Of Power Organization, a student-led, male enrichment program that today operates across Tulsa Public Schools.
Greg’s educational journey as a young Tulsan also includes Eisenhower International School (Tulsa, OK), La Escuela Apostólica (San Luis Potosí, Mexico), and Monte Casino Middle School (Tulsa, OK).
In 2013, Greg earned a Bachelor of Science in History from The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB). While at UAPB, under the tutelage of the Director of Student Involvement, Michael Washington, Greg worked to increase access to cultural and intellectual enrichment opportunities through leadership in the Student Government Association and the Gamma Sigma Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. With Mr. Washington as a mentor, Greg and a group of like-minded friends founded The Black Male Achievers (BMA). BMA’s mission is to “Transcend the stereotypes of African-American males by promoting achievement at 212 degrees”. Greg served as the organization’s first President from 2009 to 2010, during which BMA was honored as the “Campus Organization of the Year”.
Greg’s time at UAPB was interrupted when he was hired as an Organizer for President Obama’s 2012 Presidential re-election campaign. After cutting his teeth in High Point, NC for Obama 2012, Greg sharpened his organization and community building skills working as an Organizer across the country at local, state, and national levels. Most recently Greg spent the 2016 election cycle managing hundreds of staff and leading campaigns in Davenport, IA, Montgomery, AL, St. Louis, MI, Oklahoma, and Florida during Hillary Clinton’s historic presidential bid.
Following the killing of Terence Crutcher, Greg could no longer justify fighting injustice across the country while his hometown struggled to rid itself of the problematic mindsets that continue to create generational trauma and distrust among Tulsans.
Upon his return home in 2016, Greg joined Met Cares Foundation (Met Cares, MCF) as a founding staff member, serving as Director of Family and Community Ownership. Met Cares’ mission is to transform the social and academic outcomes of North Tulsa’s families. In 2017, Greg worked alongside Founding Principal Kojo Asamoa-Caesar to open Met Cares’ first school, Greenwood Leadership Academy (GLA) – a neighborhood elementary school in partnership with Tulsa Public Schools.
Guided by the words of civil rights organizer Ella Baker, “Strong people, don’t need strong leaders”, Greg crafted the Met Cares civic engagement approach by building and overseeing a nearly million-dollar grassroots organizing strategy from the ground up. Out of this effort, Greg launched the Parent & Community Action Team (PCAT) and Resilience University to train other dedicated Tulsans on how to interpret data, hold community listening sessions, research solutions and interact with public officials to address critical issues facing Tulsa.
In addition to his work with MCF, Greg is a committed volunteer and mentor at Tulsa McLain High School and currently serves as lead organizer for Demanding a Just Tulsa. Greg also serves as a board member for several organizations in Tulsa, OK including A Way Home For Tulsa, The Historic Greenwood District Main Street Program, The Terence Crutcher Foundation, The Greater Tulsa African-American Affairs Commission, The 1921 Race Massacre Mass Graves Commission and Black Wall Street Chamber of Commerce.
Greg is supported by his amazing wife-to-be Ms. Katelyn Kramer, their wedding planned for June 2021. Katelyn is an immensely passionate and caring educator, serving in various instructional roles within Tulsa schools since 2014. Standing on the shoulders of an amazing family and support network, Greg is an unrelenting warrior in the battle for freedom, justice, equity, and safety for all Tulsans.