Survivors and Descendants to Hold ‘Black Wall Street Legacy Festival’ to Commemorate 1921 Race Massacre

TULSA, Okla. — Survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and descendants of victims will host the Black Wall Street Legacy Festival May 28-30 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to commemorate the Centennial of one the worst episodes of violence against Black people in US history. 

The series of community-led events will take place in Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood and center the hundreds who lost their lives during the atrocity, as well as the survivors and descendants who continue fighting for justice a century later. 

The Festival will feature a series of musical performances from top local and national talent. In addition, panels throughout the weekend will explore urgent issues, ranging from the needs of the community that still lives with the massacre every day, to the erasure of history, to the state and future of Black Wall Street. 

Living Survivors To Lead

The Festival is headlined by the last known massacre survivors — 106-year-old Lessie Benningfield “Mother” Randle, 106-year-old Viola “Mother” Fletcher, and 100-year-old Hughes Van Ellis — who will lead a procession and participate in an event honoring their legacy. 

The festival will close 100 years to the day when mobs of white residents stormed Tulsa’s affluent Greenwood district, burning down the enclave known as Black Wall Street and leaving hundreds of Black people dead. 

Inquires and Vendor Sign Up 

For inquiries or to sign up to be a food or retail vendor, email:  info@blackwallstreetlegacyfest.com.  

Community Partners

• Tulsa Community Remembrance Coalition

• Justice for Greenwood Foundation

• African Ancestral Society

• Greenwood Cultural Center

• Metcares Foundation

• Black Wall Street Chamber

• Historic Greenwood Mainstreet

• Martin Luther King Society

• World Culture Music Fest

• Fire In Little Africa (FILA)

• Black Tech Street

• 5 Fist

• BTW Hornets United

• Gathering Place (GP)

• Edurec Tulsa

• Women of Power

• Northside United Coalition of Clergy

• OSU-Tulsa

• All Souls Church

• The Black Wall Street Times

• Terence Crutcher Foundation

Website Launch

Additional details about the festival will soon be available at http://www.blackwallstreetlegacyfest.com. Website officially launches Monday, April 5, 2021.