How to watch Economic Empowerment Day at the Tulsa Race Massacre commemoration event – Oklahoman.com

Tulsa Race Massacre survivors ask for justice before Congress

The three remaining survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre testified before Congress in Washington, D.C., asking leadership to deliver justice.

Addison Kliewer, Oklahoman

Aday-long event as part of the1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commemoration will focus on economic empowerment andclosing the wealth gap between Black and other Americans.

Taking place June 1 at Tulsa's Cox Convention Centerand online for those who can't make it in person,Economic Empowerment Day was designed to create a collective focal point for the national conversation on the racial wealth gap and inequality in access to capital.

The event will include interactive sessions to drive change and catalyze the national dialogue for economic justice.

Hosting an economic empowerment conference of this caliber with a critical focus on closing the Black wealth gap is transformational, said Phil Armstrong, project director of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission. This discussion is essential to reviving the legacy of Black Wall Street and will help set the course for Black entrepreneurs to establish a legacy of wealth for themselves and generations to come.

The conference will have three tracks for different audiences focused on specific areas of wealth disparity. One track is for institutional investors, one is for entrepreneurs and business owners, and the third is for individuals and families.

Conference co-host Eric Stevenson said it's important that the 10-day commemoration have at least one day devoted to economic empowerment.

"And how do we continue to accelerate the progress that African Americans are making in building wealth, building generational wealth, and ultimately closing the wealth gap?" said Stevenson, president of Nationwide Retirement Solutions.

Those disparities are evident in data that Stevenson said shows just 1.4% of all the wealth funds managed in the United States are managed by people of color or women.

"How do we move that to 2%, to 3%, and 4%?That's where real wealth is created, when more women-owned firms, when more Black-owned firms can manage real money for these institutions across the country," he said.

The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. While COVID-19 restrictions have limited the number of in-person guests to those who have already registered, the program can be viewed online that day and for up to 90 days after the program. To sign up and attend online, visit the event's registration page.

Along with a track focusing on institutional investors, the program will include discussions about Black entrepreneurism and personal financial planning.

"That will really help people go from the beginning, from when you get your first job, how do you think about your emergency savings, how do you think about joining a 401k, how do you save and invest in your future education," Stevenson said. "I think people have bits and pieces of information, but we want to do is give them a framework that they can go back and engage with a financial adviser, or engage someone from Bank of Oklahoma, or someone from Nationwide or any one of our other partners."

The Tulsa Race Massacre was one of the worst episodes of racial violence in U.S. history. Over May 31 and June 1, 1921, mobs of white residents attacked, set aflame and ultimately devastated the Greenwood District, which was at that time one of the wealthiest Black communities in the United States, earning it the name "Black Wall Street."

The deadly tragedy was covered up for decades and omitted from history books even in Oklahoma, but the wide-ranging centennial commemoration includes numerous art exhibitions, music projects, film showcases and more.

Staff writer DaleDenwaltcovers technology, aerospace and Oklahoma business news for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Dale? He can be reached at ddenwalt@oklahoman.com or on Twitter at @denwalt. Support Dales work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

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How to watch Economic Empowerment Day at the Tulsa Race Massacre commemoration event - Oklahoman.com