National Geographic Live is a critically acclaimed speaker series offering firsthand accounts and expert voices on cultural and environmental issues. On Sunday, Jan. 23, 2023, the series comes to Chicago with “Greenwood: A Century of Resilience.” Tulsa based archaeologist, Dr. Alicia Odewale shares how archaeology is used as a tool for recovering lost stories, reclaiming a narrative and pursing restorative justice.
“Black Wall Street” as it was called, was a thriving Black community with black business owners and homeowners. At the time it was considered to be one of the most affluent Black communities in the country with black owned grocery stores, banks, hotels, libraries and schools. In 1921, over 5000 white residents invaded the Black neighborhood of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Armed with guns and other weapons, some supplied by the Tulsa Police Department, white residents caused a storm of terror, setting homes and businesses on fire and attacking residents. The terror continued for 48 hours and when the smoke cleared, more than 300 people were killed, over 1000 homes destroyed and more than $1 Million dollars in property was destroyed ($26.1 million in today’s figures). In addition, more than 800 people were admitted to hospitals and as many as 6,000 Black residents of Tulsa were interned in large facilities, many of them for several days. Considered one of the most violent episodes of racial violence in America, the impact of the massacre left a community destroyed and changed forever with generations of families impacted. Many survivors left Tulsa, while residents who chose to stay in the city, regardless of race, largely kept silent about the terror, violence and resulting losses for decades.
In May 2021, Viola Fletcher, a 107-year-old Tulsa Massacre survivor shared her story at the nation’s capital saying, “I still see Black men being shot, Black bodies lying in the street. I still smell smoke and see fire. I still see Black businesses being burned. I still hear airplanes flying overhead. I hear the screams. I have lived through the massacre every day. She continued, “I am 107 years old and have never seen justice. I pray that one day I will. I have been blessed with a long life – and have seen the best and worst of this country. I think about the terror inflicted upon Black people in this country every day,.” Fletcher was seven years old at the time of the massacre.
Dr. Alicia Odewale is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at The University of Tulsa. Her research and teaching focuses on archaeological sites of African heritage in St. Croix, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Oklahoma. Her research interests include the archaeology of enslavement and freedom in urban contexts, Caribbean archaeology, rural and urban comparative analyses, community-based archaeology, ceramic analysis, transferware studies, mapping historical trauma from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, and investigations into different forms of cultural resistance.
Dr. Odewale’s latest research project, “Mapping Historical Trauma in Tulsa from 1921-2021” examines the historical and archeological evidence of the period focusing on the Greenwood community’s trauma and triumph in its aftermath. Dr. Odewale says, “we are just beginning to unearth and map the evidence of this black communities’ resilience over the course of 100 years.” According to their website, the project hopes to “create new, critical sites of memory to examine this dark moment in our shared history and consider its legacies and echoes in the present day through digital mapping, collaborative archaeology and the curation and public presentation of research results.”
Dr. Odewale’s work sheds light on thee impact of racism and racial violence in America through the lens of a community that continues to survive. “Greenwood: A Century of Resilience comes to the Auditorium Theatre located at 50 E. Ida B. Wells Drive Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023, at 2 p.m. Tickets are priced between $5-$48 and are available at www.auditoriumtheatre.org.
Danielle Sanders is a multimedia professional with over 20 years of experience as a writer, journalist, and editor. Danielle frequently covers politics, local news, and entertainment.