The mayor of Tulsa recently announced that $105 million will be used as part of a reparations package to address the harm of the Tulsa Race Massacre.
Known as the “Road to Repair,” Mayor Monroe Nichols’ reparations package revolves around creating a private trust before June 1, 2026, which is set to be the 105th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Announced at the Greenwood Cultural Center, the package would not give direct cash payment to the descendants or the last two survivors. Instead, it would focus on using the funds to create scholarships and housing opportunities for descendants.
The trust will be managed by an executive director and a board of managers. Approximately $60 million will go towards buildings and the north side of Tulsa.
While $24 million will be dedicated to housing and homeowner benefits, an additional $21 million will be allocated to developing trust-owned land, providing scholarships and offering economic development grants in Tulsa.
Throughout the first year of the package, the managers will work on planning and fundraising for the reparations.
The proposal is not expected to require approval by the city council, according to Mayor Nichols, although it would need to be approved for the transfer of city property to the trust.
“For 104 years, the Tulsa Race Massacre has been a stain on our city’s history. The massacre was hidden from history books, only to be followed by the intentional acts of redlining, a highway built to choke off economic vitality and the perpetual underinvestment of local, state and federal governments,” said Nichols at the event. “Now it’s time to take the next big steps to restore.”
Today, we turn a page in Tulsa's history.
— Mayor Monroe Nichols (@monroefortulsa) June 1, 2025
For 104 years, the Tulsa Race Massacre has left a wound on the very soul of our city – hampering progress, opportunity, and hope. And while we can't undo the past, we can seek righteousness in this moment. That's why earlier today, I… pic.twitter.com/g4OrQekrus
The announcement of the latest package comes a year after the Supreme Court in Oklahoma dismissed the reparations lawsuit brought on by the last two living descendants, Viola Fletcher and Lessie Benningfield Randle.
The lawsuit argued that Tulsa benefited from the historic reputuation of Black Wall Street, therefore any money made from it should be given to victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre and their descendants.
An attorney for Fletcher and Randle formally submitted a request to reconsider the ruling to dismiss the lawsuit. However, seven members turned down the request. Only Justice James Edmondson said he would have reheard the case, while Justice Richard Darby abstained from voting.
Upon the latest announcement of the new reparations package, a descendant of the massacre, Jacqueline Weary, publicly spoke on how, even though it might be difficult to give cash payments to descendants politically, a majority of her family’s wealth has been lost as a result of the Tulsa Race Massacre.
“If Greenwood was still there, my grandfather would still have his hotel,” said Weary. “It rightfully was our inheritance and it was literally taken away.”
