Phylicia Lewis

7311 East 31st Place

Tulsa, Oklahoma
74145

05/28/2021
Mayor Gt Bynum City of Tulsa
175 east 2nd st 15th fl 74103

Dear Mayor, Gt Bynum, I hope this letter finds you well and I am wishing you a happy June-teenth this
year.
I admire the work you have done in the town of Tulsa such as your work and involvement in the Better
Way Program which is no doubt greatly beneficial to the citizens of Tulsa, and the work you continue
to do as of late.

My name is Phylicia Lewis and I write to you as a concerned citizen of Tulsa Oklahoma, only to voice
other ways I believe Tulsa can be greater moving forward, into our future.

If you only have a moment of your time, I’d like to be able to tell you how I became aware of what’s
called Black Wall street.
Admittedly, it was quite a bit of time in my lifetime before I’d know the story of Black Wall street
itself.

All my life I had lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma and I felt safe enough, within my town and my home,
especially as a black citizen. When friends that didn’t live in Tulsa comment things such as “Isn’t that a
dangerous place for black people to live?”
I was confused and today I think it could have been about the horror’s that happened a 100 years ago.
When learning about the events of Black Wall-Street, I felt horrible that something like this could have
occurred in a town I felt so safe in.

Growing up, My mother had been sure I had been knowledgeable about racial inequality in America,
adding to my educational study outside of school. I read books, watched educational movies that were
sometimes a bit hard to watch.

But, surprisingly, it was my younger sibling who one day told me about Black Wall street. We were
attending church and we were at a church function and the church itself had actually been rebuilt after
the aftermath of ‘Red Summer” occurred. Another Church member also provided more insight into the
events that I later went home and read all I could about.

I write this letter to you, without the knowledge that I am a known descendant of those that survived
the Horrifying turn of events a 100 years ago, but the thought that it is likely, as I have lived here all my
life and my siblings, and my mother and so have my parents.
My dad’s parents took him to church at Mount Zion when he was a child.

I would also like to say, that you being a Tulsan Native, you probably know it is very likely that you
and most living in Tulsa now are descendants as well.
When slavery ended in December 18th 1865,many African Americans were freed and found with a new
sense of self. However at the same time, they were without home, education and a job.
What little they did have, paled in comparison to what their white counterparts did have.
So, from the very beginning some had most and others had little.
Things were never very level, not with the intimidation tactics, segregation that still persisted and the
Klu Klux Klan ran rampant during that time in Tulsa.
Of course when the world war happened everyone happened to have very little.
Despite this, Black Wall Street happened.

Once it was destroyed, Many African Americans were yet again, starting from scratch.
Another point I would like to introduce in my letter is that after World War 2, Congress created the
Indian Claims Commission to pay compensation to any federally recognized tribe for land that had
been seized by the United States, which is great. It was a stepping stone for injustice that was well-
deserved.

I say this all this to say, I recently watched the newly released Hulu Special Tulsa’s buried truth, and I
have seen you are hard at work with recovering many of the bodies from the mass graves, so hopefully
families will have an answers to those lost.

I also know that you are not in favor of Reparations coming out of a citizens taxes today to pay for it.
I felt a strong sense of want to write you a letter, as I see this as unfortunate, I don’t know if I am a
descendant of the known survivors, so I write this without any desire or thought to see any direct funds
go to myself.

I, and I’m sure many others can appreciate the great strides you have taken to locate the unknown
bodies that died all those years ago.

I have to ask you, to urge you, that the real justice would be taking care of the families of The Black
Wall Street Massacre Survivors with some sort of reparations regarding the events of Black Wall Street,
reparations and justice that the living survivors and those present at the time of those events never saw.

Those dead and killed during the events Of The Tulsa Massacre worked hard to create Black Wall street
for their families, and it was a community all to make sure they were safe, educated, and taken care of.
If they were alive today, they would want to know the community they had worked so tirelessly to
build saw justice and was taken care of just the same.

Sincerely,
Phylicia Lewis.
Citizen of Tulsa