Greenwood Art Project commemorates 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre centennial

The Greenwood Art Project, led by artist Rick Lowe (2014 MacArthur Fellow) and Peruvian-born artist William Cordova, is a key initiative of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission. It aims to remember the massacre that occurred in May 1921 in Greenwood, Tulsa, Oklahoma, a prosperous African American neighborhood known as 'Black Wall Street.' The violence erupted after a black teenager was accused of assaulting a white elevator operator; tensions led to a white mob attacking Greenwood, burning businesses, schools, and homes, with an estimated 100 to 300 deaths. The project collects testimonies via the PBS American Portrait website and uses a mobile bus, the G.A.P. Van, for temporary exhibitions and workshops across Tulsa. It also includes a call for artists from Tulsa and Oklahoma to create posters inspired by the massacre for centennial celebrations. The project seeks to foster public memory and intergenerational dialogue through art.