A documentary examining the aftermath of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre will be screened at Troy University’s Rosa Parks Museum on June 1.
The Rosa Parks Museum is among of handful of locations that will premiere the film “Greenwood Ave. Project” as a part of a national tour to commemorate the 102nd anniversary of the tragic events. The screening will begin at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 and are available online at https://greenwoodaveproject.com/event/rosaparks/.
“We’re honored to be one of the locations to premiere this documentary,” said Donna Beisel, the museum’s Director of Operations. “It is important to keep the history of Black Wall Street alive and recognize the resiliency of community members to rebuild and rise above those acts of violence and hatred.”
Considered one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history, the Tulsa Race Massacre occurred May 31 – June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents attacked residents and destroyed homes and businesses in the Greenwood district, then one of the wealthiest African American communities in the country that was often referred to as “Black Wall Street.”
Following the violence, businesses, homes and churches covering a 35-block area had been burned to the ground, leaving as many as 10,000 residents homeless. While estimates vary, some put the death toll at as many as 300 residents.
Filmmaker Terry Baccus and Executive Producer Karen Reese seek to tell the story of the history of Greenwood, while also sharing the many hardships faced by residents in the massacre’s aftermath as they attempted to rebuild their once-thriving community, literally from the ground up.
“Our project is valuable because it tells the stories of people from the Greenwood community after the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, portraying all the layers of the realities of effects birthed from this horrific turn of events suffered by the Black people that were living in Tulsa during that time and for years to come,” Reese said.
To learn more or to view a trailer of the film, visit www.greenwoodaveproject.com.
