The “Greenwood Trust,” named for the historic Greenwood District destroyed in the violent civil unrest, would need to be funded by June 1, 2026, according to the City. “Assets could include property transferred to the Trust, philanthropic funding, and public funding, if desired,” the city wrote.
"For 104 years, the Tulsa Race Massacre has been a stain on our city's history," Nichols told reporters, according to Fox News. "The massacre was hidden from history books, only to be followed by the intentional acts of redlining, a highway built to choke off economic vitality and the perpetual underinvestment of local, state, and federal governments."
"Now it's time to take the next big steps to restore," he added, telling the outlet that the City Council would need to approve the transfer of any city assets into the trust.
“The Tulsa Race Massacre has left a wound on the very soul of our city - hampering progress, opportunity, and hope,” Nichols said in a statement posted to X, “And while we can't undo the past, we can seek righteousness in this moment. That's why earlier today, I announced the creation of the Greenwood Trust - a private charitable trust that will raise and direct $105 million (raised by this time next year) toward affordable housing, historic preservation, economic development, and education for descendants of the Race Massacre and the residents of Greenwood and North Tulsa.”
“This is not the final step in our road to repair, but it's a start - and a start that brings to bear what we're able to do right now, which is to create an avenue and a funding source for our reconciliation efforts in response to the needs the community has identified over the last several years.”
Today, we turn a page in Tulsa's history.
— Mayor Monroe Nichols (@monroefortulsa) June 1, 2025
For 104 years, the Tulsa Race Massacre has left a wound on the very soul of our city - hampering progress, opportunity, and hope. And while we can't undo the past, we can seek righteousness in this moment. That's why earlier today, I… pic.twitter.com/g4OrQekrus
The trust’s funding would be directed with focuses on a Housing fund of $24 million to “assist in furthering the implementation of community recommendations centered on housing and homeownership benefits for Race Massacre survivors and their descendants,” a “Cultural Preservation Fund” of $60 million that will, “go toward improving buildings, reducing blight, and helping implement certain aspects of the Kirkpatrick Heights-Greenwood Master Plan,” and a “Legacy Fund” of $21 million described as allowing for “the development of trust-owned land and acquisition of land for the benefit of Race Massacre survivors and descendants,” and “the creation of a scholarship funding structure for descendants.”
The Tulsa Race Massacre, also referred to as the 1921 Attack on Greenwood, was a significant episode of racial violence in the early 20th century following the conclusion of World War I. The Greenwood District had emerged as a relatively affluent area peopled by largely black families and businesses commonly referred to as “Black Wall Street.” As noted by The Tulsa Historical Society and Museum, dubious charges against a black man named Dick Rowland and “an inflammatory report in the May 31 edition of the Tulsa Tribune,” led to nearly two days of violence after which “35 city blocks lay in charred ruins, more than 800 people were treated for injuries and contemporary reports of deaths began at 36. Historians now believe as many as 300 people may have died.”
The Greenwood District was effectively leveled, the society said with “homes credibly estimated to have numbered 1,256,” destroyed, "along with virtually every other structure — including churches, schools, businesses, even a hospital and library.”
The announcement by Nichols has met with mixed responses online with many commenters vociferously rejecting the concept of reparations as “fueling the fire of racism,” and asking “How far “forward” are we going to have to move to just live our lives, for those of us that didn’t participate in the riots?”
“Let’s get this straight: the mayor wants to punish people for something that happened over 100 years ago,” Danielle Berjikian wrote for Louder With Crowder, “ —even though none of them were alive at the time—to reward individuals who were also not alive and therefore not victims. In other words, create a problem that doesn’t exist, for reasons that will never be morally justified. Got it.”
