Tulsa leaders want to tackle racial disparity

TULSA — In 1921, cities throughout the country were sharply divided by race, and Tulsa was no exception.

The city erupted into violence that year, leading to what remains by most accounts the worst race riot in the history of the country.

The centennial of that tragic event is swiftly approaching, but in many ways Tulsa remains a racially divided city.

Speaking Thursday, Tulsa Mayor G. T. Bynum said he and the city council agree it’s the major challenge the city faces in moving forward.

“We are in unanimous agreement that issues of racial disparity in Tulsa need to be addressed, and we have a unanimous desire to take actions, and to bring all the tools that the city government has at its disposal to take those actions,” Bynum said.

He said one of those tools is the Resilient Cities Program, in partnership with the Rockefeller Foundation.

"We recognize that the greatest issue that we need help with is racial disparity in Tulsa," Bynum said. "This is something that Tulsans have been talking about for a hundred years, and have not succeeded in addressing."
State Rep. Regina Goodwin recently told KRMG she also wants action.

“Not just talking points, not just task forces, not just meetings - ‘feel good’ meetings - but that we actually make progress here,” she said.

“We talk about commemorating the 100th anniversary of what I call the race massacre. What I would like to see is a city that really comes to terms with not only that history, but our current history.”

Several times in recent years, there have been racially-charged incidents that many feared would lead to civil unrest and violence.

But, Mayor Bynum pointed out, Tulsa has remained peaceful - yet people still seem to expect the worst.

“We have a long way to go as a city when one part of our city is synonymous with an entire race. We have a long way to go as a city when people keep expecting lawlessness from African-Americans in response to an incident or a verdict. I would remind Tulsans that our history shows us - African-Americans in Tulsa have not been the instigators of lawlessness and riots. They have been the victims of them.”