Filmmaker Karen Reese To Produce & Direct Greenwood Ave Doc On “Black Wall Street”

Tulsa, OK. African Americans in Tulsa, Oklahoma want to tell their own story, and have enlisted filmmaker Karen Reese to do so. Reese, best known for the eight-part documentary “Path to the Draft: 7 De Soto U Players” and sports moms talk show “Can We Talk Sports,”will chronicle the Greenwood Ave Project as a documentary for release in 2021. 

In 1921, white rioters burned down a section of wealthy Black businesses on Greenwood Avenue also known as the Black Wall Street. All of the businesses were destroyed, families lost their trade and income, and many lives were lost due to the hatred and bigotry of some whites. Years later, this part of North Tulsa has not been revitalized.

“I was so honored that the people reached out to me to tell their story,” says Reese who – through several mutual acquaintances and the power of social media – was contacted directly by Terry Baccus, a current Tulsa resident. May 2021 marks the 100th anniversary commemorating the event, and the people of Tulsa want to tell their own story. 

LeBron James, Russell Westbrook, and other notables are working on their accounts of the Black Wall Street Massacre, but Reese’s project is the only one produced at the request, and on behalf, of the people of Tulsa.

This documentary aims to shed a different perspective on Tulsa’s history, exploring the stability and bright promise of the Black-owned family businesses that were lost. Financial support for the production of this documentary is still needed. Lets rebuild this community and establish new Black-owned businesses in Tulsa.