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Jessica Mendoza/海角大神/File
Jerica Wortham at Fulton Street Books and Coffee, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Oct. 1, 2020. Ms. Wortham, a spoken-word artist and art curator, says the spirit of entrepreneurship is alive and well in Tulsa's Black community. But she says she also wants to see that spirit translate into physical spaces in her community. "Storefront space, having brick and mortar, having a space where you can go in and say, 'Someone that looks like me created this space, and when I go into this space, I know I'm welcomed,' that is what we are looking for more of," she says.

In Tulsa, a poet reflects on art鈥檚 transformative power

Can art truly bring healing? Our reporters explore the answers with an artist in Tulsa, Oklahoma, ahead of the centennial of the 1921 race massacre. This is an update to Part 3 of our podcast 鈥淭ulsa Rising.鈥

Update: Jerica Wortham on the transformative power of art

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How does a city confront a violent past? Tulsa, Oklahoma, is wrestling with the question as it prepares for the centennial of the brutal race massacre that took place there on May 31 and June 1, 1921. 

For Tulsa native Jerica Wortham, one answer is through art 鈥 especially art that lets Tulsa鈥檚 Black community members process their painful history, own the stories for themselves, and find a path toward healing. As program director for The Greenwood Art Project, Ms. Wortham is hoping the project will facilitate space for that to happen. 

In the final episode of 鈥淭ulsa Rising,鈥 Ms. Wortham gives our reporters the latest on the project鈥檚 status and her reflections on the transformative power of music, poetry, and creativity.

鈥淚t is my hope that with 鈥 the opportunity to experience these narratives in a way that makes it human, we take it from just the sensational to real life practical, policy change,鈥 she says.   

This episode is an update to Part 3.

Episode transcript

Samantha Laine Perfas: Hi everyone, I鈥檓 Samantha Laine Perfas. 

Jessica Mendoza: And I鈥檓 Jessica Mendoza. 

Sam: This is 鈥淭ulsa Rising,鈥 a podcast by 海角大神 鈥

Jess: 鈥 where we take a close look at the legacy of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre.

[Music]

Sam: This is the final episode of the podcast! If you鈥檝e listened to our other episodes, you鈥檒l know that we first reported this series in the fall of 2020. And because a lot has happened since, we called back some of the people we spoke to. We wanted to know what they were up to just ahead of the massacre鈥檚 centennial on May 31st. 

Jess: Today, we hear from Jerica Wortham, program director of the Greenwood Art Project. We talked to her about how the artists she鈥檚 working with have adapted to the pandemic. A lot of their art projects will be available online, which is great news for out of towners like us! 

Sam: We also get a peek at Jerica鈥檚 latest work with 鈥淔ire In Little Africa鈥 鈥 that鈥檚 the big multimedia hip hop project that celebrates Black Wall Street.

Jess: We even play a bit of, 鈥淪hining鈥 鈥 the song she鈥檚 in 鈥 near the end of the episode. 

Sam: And Jerica shares what she鈥檚 hoping for 鈥 for Greenwood and for Tulsa 鈥 beyond 2021. 

Jess: Don鈥檛 forget, you can find all the episodes of 鈥淭ulsa Rising鈥 wherever you get your podcasts! Or visit csmonitor.com/tulsarising. Now: our conversation with Jerica.

[Music]

Jess: OK, it鈥檚 Jess here talking. Sam鈥檚 on the line as well. 

Sam: Hello. 

Jerica Wortham: Hello, hello.  

Jess: And just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to catch up with us.  

Wortham: Not a problem. Not a problem. I鈥檓 excited.

Jess: Well, how are you doing? It鈥檚 been a while. 

Wortham: I am well. I, of course, am working through all of the last details to prepare the Greenwood Art Project. So really just navigating all of the moving pieces, and just really excited to see it all take place, really, that鈥檚 where we are. That鈥檚 where we are.  

Jess: I mean, the last time we talked, everything for the commemoration was still sort of covid pending. So we鈥檇 love for you to walk us through what鈥檚 happened over the past eight months, if there鈥檚 been any new additions or adjustments to the activities you鈥檇 had planned and what folks can look forward to. 

Jessica Mendoza/海角大神/File
Jerica Wortham sits on a couch at Fulton Street Books and Coffee, a business in Tulsa Oklahoma, on Oct. 1, 2020.

Wortham: We naturally had been navigating how we can safely share these installations with our community and with the world at large. Some projects have been able to lend themselves to virtual experiences. Many have also worked out either having outdoor spaces or the venues have very strict covid protocols in place. And we鈥檙e training volunteers to navigate restrictions so that everyone can have a safe and enjoyable experience. We have also commissioned a series of mini documentaries. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, we have a drive-in theater. And we will be filming a series of the mini documentaries so that people still have the opportunity to engage with it in a meaningful way. We鈥檝e also engaged our Downtown Coordinating Commission to light our town green in honor of the historic Greenwood district, but also the commemoration of the 1921 race massacre. So we鈥檙e just really looking for all the ways to 鈥 to share this story and this narrative with the world. 

Sam: I think it鈥檚 so exciting just to hear all of the different things that you guys are planning. It sounds incredible. Selfishly, I鈥檓 very excited for all of the digital components because I won鈥檛 have the luxury of being there in person. So for all of the people who will be tuning in from around the world, where can they find these amazing parts of the project?  

Wortham: Absolutely. So just simply go to our website, which is . 

[Music]

Sam: As I鈥檓 thinking about all the different aspects of this project and probably the evolution it has had to go through during a pandemic, I鈥檓 wondering how the artists in the community have been feeling. You know, has it been a time of stress or in some ways, has it created opportunities for artists to try new things? 

Wortham: I think they have gone through 鈥 or they鈥檝e, they鈥檝e just run the full gamut of emotion. They signed up for this project, 2019, 2020. They had their idea of what this project would look like, how it would manifest itself, and then a pandemic hits. And so they鈥檝e had to shift. But I think once they got through the stress of exactly, 鈥淗ow will my project shift?鈥 You鈥檙e now seeing the light in their eyes. 鈥淲ow, I鈥檝e created something and I鈥檓 excited for people to engage. And I want them to come out and I hope they get it.鈥 And as of now, the sentiment seems to be getting those last final details together, of making sure that their installation is ready and that it qualifies as far as honoring their ideas and navigating technically through a pandemic.  

Jess: Well, the Greenwood Art Project 鈥 the centennial, really 鈥 commemorates, you know, the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. But it鈥檚 also really about Greenwood and Black Wall Street and the businesses and the community that was and is there now. How has the pandemic affected those businesses and what role, maybe, are they playing in the centennial or as part of the Greenwood Art Project, if any? 

Wortham: The roles that they are playing are varied in nature. Everyone is trying to find a way to stay viable, even if people are not able to engage with their storefronts. For many small businesses of color, a lot of their operations, at least in the Tulsa area, are 鈥 ran online. And so I think they鈥檝e been able to maintain some sense of normalcy. Now for the caterers and live event people like me 鈥 yeah, it just hasn鈥檛 happened. I鈥檓 still waiting to feel safe enough to really just open it up for the world. But I鈥檓 getting closer. 

[Music]

Jess: The other thing we wanted to ask about was 鈥淔ire in Little Africa.鈥 I was sort of peeking through your Instagram and saw that 鈥 did you guys do a show recently? What鈥檚 been going on with that?  

Wortham: Yes, they had a show in Oklahoma City, which is absolutely phenomenal. It was a great experience. This project has really taken several forms: a podcast, the live shows, an album that will be released on all streaming platforms beginning May 28th. That project has also just recently been picked up by Motown Records under the Black Forum label, which is actually a space that has not been utilized for over 30 years. Martin Luther King was signed under Black Forum. And so to have a representation of Tulsa artists telling the stories from their perspective on a label that has so much significance historically is 鈥 is beautiful.  

Sam: What a huge moment for all the 鈥淔ire in Little Africa鈥 artists. I just wish I could be in the room when you guys found out and when all that went down.  

Wortham: It was surreal. It was absolutely surreal.

[Music]

Sam: As we near the centennial and summer and recovery seems more tangible. Where are you finding hope during this time and what are your dreams for the city coming out of this difficult season? 

Wortham: What I hope is for everyone to come and be open to a perspective outside of what they may have thought they would experience. And then from that, thinking through what it really would mean to move forward and to think about it in a meaningful way, in a real-life way beyond 2021. How do we carry this narrative forward where we鈥檙e also open to learning the lessons that come from that? How do we make sure that this never happens again? Listening to the needs of the survivors and their descendants. What does it look like to have reparations to these communities? How do we make this real? It is my hope that with the Greenwood Art Project and really having the opportunity to experience these narratives in a way that makes it human, we take it from just the sensational to real life practical policy change, real life, practical community engagement and organizing, real life accountability to the Greenwood community, what it has lost, and bring it back in a beautiful but equitable way.  

Jess: Great. Well, thank you, thank you so much. Sam, did you have anything else you wanted to ask? 

Sam: No. Just that I鈥檓 鈥 I鈥檓 so excited to look up where we can find all these things. Can you say the website one last time?  

Wortham: It is GreenwoodArtProject.org. 

[Music]

Jess: Before we close, so one thing that people really loved about the series that we did was hearing you perform your poetry for us. So we were wondering if you had written anything new or had anything you might be willing to share and read out with us today? Not to put you on the spot, but kind of.   

Wortham: Let me think. I don鈥檛 know. Let me think through 鈥 OK, so my verse from the 鈥淪hining鈥 song speaks to Greenwood鈥檚 history, but then it also speaks to resilience and being able to continue to move forward in spite of. 

[Music from the song, 鈥淪hining鈥漖

Here is the verse. The verse is: 

Picture this: Greenwood Ave. 

Red Man鈥檚 Land. 

See the brilliance built by a Black man鈥檚 hand. 

It was for us, by us, false prop, plot us, hold up, trot us, peg leg got us. 

We radiate. 

These jewels cost. 

This shine ain鈥檛 free. 

And for a buck they switch the Rubik鈥檚 of our history. 

But we鈥檙e what it looks like when we got our own backs 

and we鈥檙e what it looks like when we build it back Black. 

We鈥檙e what it looks like in a hundred years鈥 time. 

Got the audacity to walk up out these ashes and shine. 

We shinin鈥.  

[Fade out music from the song, 鈥淪hining鈥漖

Sam: Thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this series, please rate and review us! You can find all our episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and Stitcher. Or visit csmonitor.com/tulsarising.  

[Music]

Jess: This episode was reported and produced by me, Jessica Mendoza. 

Sam: And me, Samantha Laine Perfas.

Jess: Edited by Clay Collins. Sound design by Morgan Anderson and Noel Flatt.  

Sam: And special thanks to the team at 鈥淔ire In Little Africa鈥 for letting us use a snippet of the song, 鈥淪hining,鈥 feat. Steph Simon,  Ayilla, Dialtone, and Jerica Wortham.

Jess: This podcast was brought to you by 海角大神, copyright 2021.

[End]