| March on Tulsa Commemorating 87th Anniversary of Tulsa Race Riot | |  National Call for March on Tulsa May 31 - June 1, 2008
BEFORE THEY DIE- There will be a march and town hall meeting featuring
the survivors, religious and civic leaders from across the country, and
members of the legal team. The documentary by film producer Reggie
Turner entitled Before They Die will be screened at OSU-Tulsa this
weekend to commemorate the 87th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Riot.
(Photojournalist J. Kavin Ross)
A series of events are planned to commemorate the 87th anniversary of
the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot the weekend of May 31st - June 1st, 2008. This
Saturday, the day begins with a march and rally in the Greenwood section
of Tulsa at 10:00 AM. The March features the oldest living survivor Mr.
Otis Clark, 105 years and Mr. Wesley Young, 91 years, both of Tulsa and
Dr. Olivia Hooker, 93 of White Plains, New York. The following events
will be held at the Oklahoma State University - Tulsa Auditorium
Harvard Law Prof. Charles A. Ogletree Jr. likes to tell audiences, 'So
you know the Gap Band's famous song You Dropped a Bomb on Me. The group
is from Tulsa, Okla., where in 1921 white vigilantes looted and burned
America 's most prosperous black community. More than 300 people were
killed, 1,200 homes and businesses destroyed, and 10,000 citizens
displaced. Some have called it America 's Holocaust. The band's name
memorializes the site of the race riot. Gap is short for Greenwood
Avenue, and Archer and Pine streets that were the heart of the Greenwood
business district known as the 'Black Wall Street.' Ogletree is the
lead counsel in a lawsuit to get reparations for the survivors,
including 105-year-old Otis Clark and Dr. John Hope Franklin. Dr.
Franklin's father's law office was burned down by the white mob.
Many people strongly feel that the time for justice is long overdue. To
commemorate the 87th anniversary of this act of domestic terrorism,
there will be a series of events in Tulsa the weekend of May 31-June 1.
The events will include the premiere of 'Before They Die,' the story of
the survivors' four-year search for justice through the federal judicial
system.
Reggie Turner, the film's director and producer, said: The victims of
9/11, the Oklahoma City bombing, and the Japanese-Americans from the
World War II internment camps have all been compensated. The survivors
of the Tulsa Race Riot are still waiting, hoping that they will see
justice and compensation before they die.
The film is the cornerstone of an effort to generate knowledge of this
hidden historical event, and to stimulate Americans to contribute online
to provide compensation directly to the victims. The non-profit, Tulsa
Project Fund Inc. has been established specifically for that purpose.
The goal is to accomplish what the legal and legislative branches of the
government have failed to do. To right this wrong, to no longer simply
look backward: To step forward from our history, by embracing our
present responsibility to make life better for these victims while we
have to opportunity to do so.
There will also be a march and town hall meeting featuring the
survivors, religious and civic leaders from across the country, and
members of the legal team.
On Saturday May 31st at 1:00 PM a town hall meeting with riot survivors
and members of their legal team lead by Harvard Professor Charles
Ogletree and RCC Co-Chair Adjoa Aiyetoro.
3:00 PM Screening of the documentary Before They Die! The story of the
Survivors 4-year odyssey through the Federal courts to the Supreme Court
and on to the US Congress, in their search for justice.
5:45 PM Town Hall Talk Back Panel discussion lead by Professor Charles
Ogletree and Michael Hausfeld co-leads of the Survivors' legal team.
Participating on the panel will be the film's director Reggie Turner and
the noted historian John Hope Franklin.
Oklahoma State University-Tulsa Auditorium is located at 700 N.
Greenwood Avenue.
On Sunday June 1, a memorial service at Mount Zion Church to honor those
who died during the riot.
1:00 PM Oak Lawn Cemetery, the site of an alleged mass grave, a ceremony
will be held to honor the victims of the race riot who where never
properly buried.
For more information contact Mportant Films at 323-677-2780. To view the
trailer
Go to the website click here
| | Posted on Thursday, May 29 @ 18:13:02 CDT by nerd57 | | | | | | |
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