TULSA--Nearly 600 attended an event held recently at the Greenwood Cultural Center to honor the late John Hope Franklin and inaugurate a “reconciliation” center named after him. “We are on a journey that’s just beginning,” said Julius Pegues, who has led a nine-year struggle to memorialize Franklin and the 1921 Tulsa race riot. “Tulsa is going to be the best city in America.”
Dr. Franklin pioneered the fields of African-American history and understanding the role of race in America.
He died earlier this year, just months after attending groundbreaking ceremonies for John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park in the Greenwood District.
The park’s opening, originally scheduled for last year, has been delayed by the weather, but that hasn't stopped those who support the center from forging ahead.
It was announced that the center will host a symposium keynoted by Julian Bond (chairman of the board of the NAACP) in June.
Plans are also under way for the construction of a physical home for the center, which Mr. Pegues said will “be a leader for the country, and where research and dialogue on reconciliation will be a key component.”
Historian Scott Ellsworth called the 1921 riot “unfinished business” that must be resolved for Tulsa’s own good.
“The question we are faced with tonight is, ‘Shall Tulsa simply be the city with the riot or the city that healed the wounds?’ ”
Mr. Ellsworth said Tulsa is now widely associated with the riot and must show the world that it has come to grips with its past.
“There are the kinds of questions, whether we like it or not, others will ask and answer,” he said.
Mayor Kathy Taylor and former Mayors Susan Savage and Bill LaFortune were commended for their efforts for the park and the center, as were Mr. Pegues and Reuben Gant, president of the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce.
