TULSA, Okla. – Join us on the 103rd Anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre at the Black Wall Street Legacy Festival Summit at the Greenwood Cultural Center (322 N Greenwood Ave, Tulsa, OK 74120) on Saturday, June 1, 2024, from 12 PM to 2 PM. This year, Legacy Fest welcomes Dr. Marcus Anthony Hunter, a distinguished figure in sociology and African American studies. Dr. Hunter will lead a thought-provoking first session on Radical Reparations and its role in healing the soul of a nation. Following the first Session, the National Nikkei Reparations Coalition for Japanese Americans will lead a special session, highlighting their support for Black Americans’ quest for reparations and justice.
Session I – Pioneering Scholar and Author to Discuss Radical Reparations at Upcoming Panel
Dr. Marcus Anthony Hunter, the Scott Waugh Endowed Chair in the Social Sciences Division and Professor of Sociology & African American Studies at UCLA, is known for coining the term #BlackLivesMatter. He has authored and edited five books, including Radical Reparations: Healing the Soul of a Nation.
Radical Reparations: Healing the Soul of a Nation has received acclaim for its innovative approach to reparations, addressing the multifaceted impacts of slavery and systemic racism. Hunter’s work employs historical analysis, international case studies, and speculative parables to propose seven types of reparations: political, intellectual, legal, economic, spatial, social, and spiritual. These concepts will be discussed in Saturday’s panel discussion.
Dr. Angela Davis, a renowned political activist, academic, and author, describes Radical Reparations: Healing the Soul of a Nation as “a monumental work that provides a necessary roadmap for addressing the deep-rooted impacts of systemic racism and slavery in America.”
Following the panel, Dr. Hunter will be selling and signing copies of his book.
Session II – From Incarceration to Restitution: Lessons from Japanese American Reparations
The Japanese Americans Solidarity for Black Reparations session, led by National NIKKEI Reparations Coalition for Japanese Americans will feature a 45-minute segment focusing on the topic of reparations from the perspective of Japanese Americans. This segment is part of a larger discussion happening during the Legacy Fest.
The segment will include speakers from the National Nikkei Reparations Coalition, an organization dedicated to mobilizing the Japanese American community around the issue of reparations for Black Americans. “Nikkei” refers to the Japanese diaspora and is a term often used within the Japanese American community.
The speakers will draw parallels between the Japanese American community’s path to restitution for the 120,000 Japanese Americans who were forcibly removed from their homes and incarcerated in concentration camps on domestic soil during World War II.
They will discuss the hearings by the Commission on Wartime Relocation and Internment of Civilians, which were instrumental in securing reparations through the Civil Liberties Act. Decades later, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988, signed by President Ronald Reagan, formally apologized for this injustice and provided monetary reparations to surviving internees.
