New City commission created to address effects of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum signed an executive order creating a new commission to address the effects of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

He said the Beyond Apology Commission is supposed to help restore and unite the City of Tulsa.

City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper said the next step is to figure out how they can help people affected by the Tulsa Race Massacre.

Bynum said the point of the commission is to bring the City together to figure out how to come up with a reparations program for victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre and their descendants.

Bynum said it’s about providing education, financial compensation, economic development, and more.

“We’re doing this because what we found is that there is such polarity around this issue and there’s a need for greater dialogue to try and find common ground, areas of agreement amongst Tulsans. I think most Tulsans want to do more for the descendants of Race Massacre victims,” Bynum said.

Bynum also wants all Tulsans to think about what it would be like to be families of the victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre. He said the hurt didn’t just happen in 1921 and go away.

“I think it is so important for Tulsans to think about what you would expect if the Race Massacre happened today. You would expect for the perpetrators to be held to account, you would expect the victims to be found, you would expect the insurance companies to fund the reconstruction of property that was destroyed,” Bynum said.

Hall-Harper said there’s still a lot of work to be done after today’s order.

“It’s going to be uncomfortable, I know that it is for people in the city. I’m here for the work and I know that most Tulsans are here for the work, but I look forward to a day that Tulsa can say from a national and even a worldwide perspective, ‘We were able to come together to do something and do it right’,” Harper said.

Anyone interested in applying for one of the eleven seats on the commission has until August 30 to apply.

For a link to the application, click here .