Looking back in Tulsa’s history with art
By Olivia Kerber
Tulsa’s new downtown mural illustrates the ways in which the city in the modern day is handling its tense history. Tulsa’s history with race relations has been one of violence and oppression—especially when we look to the Tulsa Race Massacre in the 1920s. The Greenwood district, a neighborhood that still exists today, was one of the most renowned concentrations of Black business in the nation up until the massacre. After these appalling events, Greenwood had little left. Instead of having the ability to rebuild, their community was ultimately destroyed by the interstate highway that was built over the neighborhood. The federally funded construction of I-244 was the nail in the coffin for many in the district, causing them to move away from what once was a prosperous freedman colony.
While many residing in Tulsa are aware of these tragedies, less people are aware of the sheer success of African-American North Tulsans during this time. This is why there has never been a greater need for education that displays the people who eventually aided Tulsa’s success as a city. On M.L.K. Jr. Blvd lies a mural that reflects the rich history of the Greenwood community, right under I-244, the highway that caused Greenwood to cease as a flourishing district.
A collaboration between the Oklahoma Arts Alliance and artists Joel Daniel Phillips and Alexander Damahn, the mural displays North Tulsans who shaped Tulsa’s democracy. The mural is a piece of a larger project named the Pathway to Hope Public Art Trail. The art trail aims to focus on six different themes through six different art pieces: creativity, resilience, vision, justice, hope and remembrance. The theme for the mural on M.L.K. Jr. Blvd is vision. The figures displayed in the artwork are a composition of prominent lawyers, artists, civil rights activists and more broadly, humans whose stories need telling. Each steel sheet displaying the individual also includes a QR code, which takes you to a site with distinctive biographies for each person.
Each painting is also a part of an ongoing art series by Joel Daniel Phillips, titled Killing the Negative. The series is a response to the Farm Security Administration’s (FSA) commissioned photos during The Great Depression, in which the head of the FSA punched holes in the original negatives and “killed” them if he deemed the photos not good enough. The creative project delves into themes of censorship and how we rely on historical documents.
The vibrant colors of the mural, depicting each person in either a shade of green or pink, only facilitates the intention of the comprehensive painting; these people likely didn’t get the historical esteem that many others did—especially others who were white. Furthermore, the pink and green paintings were originally based on film photos, which would've been without color. This reminds us that history isn’t black and white. Tulsa’s history is one filled with nuances, and we ought not forget the hazard of only hearing one perspective. The perspectives of the marginalized allow the privileged to better grasp systemic inequality and gain greater empathy for others.
The location of the piece also assists its purpose: exploring the gains and losses of the Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The heart of Greenwood was destroyed when I-244 was built. Buildings such as Dreamland Theatre were bulldozed and replaced by concrete. The mural now stands at the inception of the district’s demise, honoring what it once was.
The mural seems to be a metaphor for how far Tulsa has come. This last year, Tulsa elected the city’s first Black mayor, Monroe Nichols, a full one eighty from where Tulsa was one hundred years ago. The portrayal of this progression through art is essential for future generations of Tulsans to hopefully discover the not-so steady growth of the city. Nichols stated upon his election, “My election was a strong statement that Tulsans are ready to respectfully and meaningfully close a painful chapter in our city’s history and move forward together.”
As I look upon the pink and green images of these uplifting Tulsans—I learn. When I look at A.J Smitherman, I see a man who moves me to do my best in my own work. Smitherman was a journalist and used this power to advocate for others. Even right now, as I am highlighting this moment in Tulsa history, I want to embody the ethics that Smitherman represented.
Considering the art is a part of a series titled Killing the Negative, the piece simultaneously “kills” the negative stigma around Tulsa’s tensions surrounding race. Each person, people just as inspiring as A.J Smitherman, allows for us to see the good that has come from Tulsa. The mural is a remnant of the past and an artifact for the future. The vivid colors of the mural enable us to see a bright and hopeful future for the city of Tulsa.