“Tulsa Race Massacre: 100 Years Later”Comes to OETA Monday, May 31, at 7 p.m.
OETA Premiers its Documentary and Hosts Community Engagement Events
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – OETA joins North Tulsa and the rest of Oklahoma in commemorating the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The PBS station will premiere its latest documentary, Tulsa Race Massacre: 100 Years Later, Monday, May 31, at 7 p.m.
The hour-long program covers the rise of Black Wall Street, the devastation wrought during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and the dedication of contemporary creatives to build a new legacy. “OETA is in the business of telling stories of importance for all Oklahomans. And, for too long, the story of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre has gone untold,” says Polly Anderson, executive director of OETA. “As Oklahoma’s storyteller, we are driven by our mission—and consider it a great privilege—to make this story known.”
OETA is offering several community engagement opportunities to accompany the documentary. First, A virtual extended preview and discussion will take place Tuesday, May 25, at 7 p.m. The event is free, but registration is required and tickets are given on a first come, first served basis. Second, community organizations are eligible to host screenings of the film for free from June 1-31. To be considered, screening partners must complete a short application. Lastly, OETA will be developing a free discussion and activity guide geared towards children in late elementary and middle school. Information about these opportunities and resources can be found at OETA.tv/TulsaRaceMassacre.
The program is hosted by author, poet and historian, Quraysh Ali Lansana. Lansana is the author of twenty books in poetry, nonfiction and children’s literature. He is currently a Tulsa Artist Fellow and serves as Acting Director of the Center for Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation at Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, where he is also Writer in Residence for the Center for Poets & Writers and Adjunct Professor in Africana Studies and English. Lansana is creator and executive producer of KOSU/NPR’s Focus: Black Oklahoma monthly radio program. A former faculty member of both the Writing Program of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Drama Division of The Juilliard School, Lansana served as Director of the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing at Chicago State University from 2002-2012, and was Associate Professor of English/Creative Writing there until 2014.
More information about the program and associated community engagement opportunities can be found at OETA.tv/TulsaRaceMassacre as information is available.
