Vision
Our Focus Areas
We envision Tulsa as a community that celebrates and promotes the extraordinary heritage, history and legacy of African Americans and the Greenwood District and is a model of multiculturalism at its best.
History
We value our history and the integrity of our ancestors. We make the promise to tell the whole truth of 1921 and those that were affected through the tragic massacre that occurred just steps from where our building is located.
“History is not the past but a map of the past, drawn from a particular point of view, to be useful to the modern traveler.” -Henry Galssie
Future
We believe education is the key to understanding Greenwood's history and people. We take pride in honoring the vision of our founders by offering educational and cultural learning opportunities.
“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards…” -Soren Kierkegaard
Latest News from Greenwood Cultural Center, Greenwood's Community Hub
Renovations have started. Check out the images below to see how it's going!
Greenwood Cultural Center (“GCC”), in partnership with the Tulsa Police Department (TPD), is planning the second session of *Bridging the Gap: Cops & Community Conversations. The pilot program was created to enable open, productive discussions between North Tulsa leaders and Tulsa Police Department (“TPD”), officers, including Major Mark Ohnesorge, Deputy Chief Mark Wollmershauser Jr., and Chief Dennis Larsen, following the Department of Justice’s investigative report on the Tulsa Race Massacre earlier this year. GCC and TPD designed the program to address both the historical harms identified by the DOJ and present-day dynamics between law enforcement and North Tulsa residents. The pilot program was very successful, leading to a second series.
The second series, facilitated by Jonathan Townsend, a community leader raised in North Tulsa will begin later this year. These candid, structured conversations foster trust, examine historical harm, and map practical strategies to improve safety, open dialogue, and build police–community relationships. The pilot program kept the group small so that participants could be honest, vulnerable, and solutions-oriented. The pilot proved that with structure, commitment, and skilled facilitation, honest relationship-building is possible.
“The relationship between TPD and North Tulsa has been strained, marked by mistrust, disconnect, and at times an absence of meaningful engagement. We continue to live with the deep, intergenerational wounds left by the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, and that reality shapes how we move forward. Yet, out of responsibility to our children, to the generations who will inherit this community, and to our shared pursuit of healing, we must convene, reckon, and repair. That work requires honest acknowledgement of past harms and a deliberate, structured approach to rebuilding relationships so the future we co-create truly reflects healing, trust, and transparency. We can acknowledge where we have been and now put the work in place to create a future that reflects where we want to go." - Michelle Burdex, Program Coordinator, Greenwood Cultural Center.
For additional information, please contact Michelle Burdex at mbburdex@greenwoodculturalcenter.com.
Greenwood Cultural Center & Tulsa Police Department
"Bridging the Gap: Cops & Community Conversations" - New session beginning soon.
Jonathan Townsend, Facilitaor
Greenwood Cultural Center
Legacy Award Dinner
honoring
Nate Burleson
Presenting Sponsor
George Kaiser Family Foundation
Thank you to all of our sponsors, contributors, and special guests.
Nate and Atoya Burleson, thank you for joining the community for this wonderful event!
Greenwood Features
Barney Clever
"Barney S. Cleaver, the first African-American policeman in Tulsa, was born in Newbern, VA in 1865 (the actual date was January 2, 1867). In Newbern, he attended public school until he was fifteen. He then moved to Charleston, WV where he initially worked on a steamer and later worked in the coal mines.
Mt. Zion
The church, like others in Greenwood, was a symbol of economic might that became symbolic of the largest concentration of black wealth in America. To have Mount Zion return in a state “as good as it ever was,” said Givens, inspired the district’s black residents to move forward.
A.J Smitherman
A.J. Smitherman, newspaper editor and publisher of the Tulsa Star, was not only an influential leader in Tulsa's wealthy and growing black community, he was its conscience. He helped shape the spirit of The Black Wall Street of America with his continuous and fearless denunciations against Jim Crow.
Greenwood Rebuild
It has been noted the origin of war is theft, a collective will for a collective purpose. Tulsa's blacks may have fallen victim of the axiom. They had refused to sell their land, with its strategic location, before and after the catastrophe.
Future GCC
The future of GCC is bright and changing! We are currently working on a renovation project and we can’t wait for you to see all that we have in store.
What Makes Us Special
