Greenwood Rising Museum
In 1921, a group of white residents in Tulsa, Oklahoma destroyed the thriving African American neighborhood of Greenwood, known as Black Wall Street, flattening over 35 blocks and killing over 300 people. The incident known today as the Tulsa Race Massacre was covered up by the state and federal government, and is often not taught in American schools. The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission sought after a space that would tell the remarkable and resilient story of Greenwood and its community by finally bringing this story to vivid life on the very site where Black Wall Street used to stand. * The following images and videos contain sensitive material.
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Press: New York Times . Forbes . New York Times
Client: Tulsa Centennial Commission
Role: Associate Creative Director, Design Director
Team: Andrea Worby, McKenna Cole, Jenny Wong, Olivia Crosby, Anthony Roy, Loyalkaspar, Keeli Shaw, Jake Barton, L'Rai Arthur-Mensah
“This media piece welcomes visitors to the Greenwood District, a community whose history as a Black business mecca and the site of racial violence is matched by its resilience and strength. Featuring Maya Angelou’s iconic poem Still I Rise, and created by Tulsa-based filmmaker Trey Thaxton, the film features Greenwood community members and business owners, juxtaposing past and present stories of success and hope.”
“Visitors enter a timeline of racial violence organized around the social, economic, and political systems of anti-Blackness in America. Key features include artifacts of control and violence like slave shackles and a robe from the domestic terrorist organization, the Ku Klux Klan.”
“This exhibit brings to life the horrors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, immersing visitors in the minute-by-minute accounts from survivors and memories from descendants. Told from the perspective of survivors, the humanity and despair frames the photographs of crumbling businesses and burning homes that witnessed the destruction of a thriving African American community. First person accounts taken from interviews with survivors like Eddie Faye Gates weave together the black experience of the Massacre.”
“Visitors end their journey by making a personal and actionable commitment toward racial reconciliation. An LED brick activates upon submission, adding visitors’ voices to the community wall of past commitments, which extends into a display of grassroots donor plaques.”