Lawmakers move to designate Black Wall Street as a National Monument

TULSA, Okla. (KFOR) - Oklahoma Senator James Lankford and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker are pushing the efforts to get Black Wall Street, Greenwood District designated as national monument.

The co-sponsored bill was advocated for by more than 11 Tulsa-based nonprofit organizations all a part of the Black Wall Street Coalition.

If the bill goes through, Black Wall Street looks to garner the same protections as national parks and monuments.

The Black Wall Street Coalition said the U.S. House of Representatives is also expected to draft a companion bill in 2024.

"I commend the senators' work to ensure that Black Wall Street gets its overdue recognition as a community that is integral to America's unfinished story," said Tiffany Crutcher, executive director of the Terence Crutcher Foundation and descendant of a Tulsa Race Massacre survivor.

"The bill's introduction in the Senate, and hopefully soon in the House, gets the nation closer to acknowledging the truth – that this is sacred ground, blood was shed here, and justice has continually been denied. It is my hope that a national monument will inspire the country to rebuild a future Greenwood that is full of possibilities for generations to come," she said.

The bill needs to face a vote and be signed by President Joe Biden before earning the National Monument title.

The coalition submitted an additional request to President Biden to streamline the designation through the Antiquities Act. Both pathways can secure the designation.

"National Monument designation for Greenwood/Black Wall Street represents a Black experience of creativity, entrepreneurship, tragedy, perseverance, triumph, and community," said Reuben Gant, executive director of the John Hope Franklin Center. "We must recognize memory as an aspect of coming to terms with the past by facing all aspects of American history; stories of great cruelty, and of great courage."