Wednesday, May 26, 2021
100 years after The stories of Greenwood 100 years after the massacre
OSU students produce documentary about Greenwood 100 years after the massacre ‘Greenwood Here and Now’ airs May 26, 2021 on The O’Colly Media Group App to build a multimedia project that included a series in the student newspaper The O’Colly along with corresponding podcasts and a fullNBA stars, national length documentary film. media and filmmakers from The result was the all walks of life will be deGreenwood: Here and Now scending on the Greenwood project by the O’Colly Media District in Tulsa over the next Group, whose 10-part sefew weeks. ries has been running since They will be looking at March. The documentary is the area — both its history set to premiere on the OMG and its future — as the 100th app May 26. anniversary of the Tulsa Race Kerr, an award-winning Massacre comes to pass. photojournalist, said the projBasketball stars Russell ect is close to his heart as he Westbrook and LeBron James lived most of his life in Tulsa, will be among many coming including a career with the to Oklahoma to reflect on the Tulsa World. event that occurred May 31“We wanted to see what June 1, 1921. Greenwood looks like today With most of the country and how it can look 10 years paying its respects in regard from now,” Kerr said. “It is a to the atrocities committed, place that has a lot of growth a group of Oklahoma State but is also having some growUniversity students looked at ing pains with people divided what Greenwood could be, on what direction they want instead of what it was. Greenwood to go.” It started when Kelly It is painful to look back Kerr, coordinator of student on these events, Kerr admitmedia, offered an independent ted, but it is crucial to learn study course last fall. from it. The coursework for the “Think of 9/11. Part of course would be for students you wants to not forget it but Jordan Bishop Communications Specialist
still push forward. It basically was the 9/11 of the Midwest,” Kerr said. Seven students participated in the project: Destinee Adams, Claire Boomer, Joshua Cleary, Summer DeWeese, Lauren Egleston, Ryan Novozinsky and Sudeep Tumma. Many of the students were learning about the Tulsa Race Massacre for the first time. The event had been kept in the shadows for nearly a century before it started to be taught about in just the last couple of decades. “I was shocked because I had no idea this even existed. It reminded me of Tiananmen Square in China,” said Tumma, a sports media junior from South Brunswick, New Jersey. “You talk to anyone in Oklahoma, and no one seems to know about it. My dad was the only person that I talked to that had any sort of idea about it. It was kind of crazy because this happened on our own soil, and no one ever learned about it.” Tumma participated in the newspaper series, which covers people living in the
Greenwood District now and how they see their community’s future. From talking to a barbershop owner to a boxing gym proprietor, a local politician to a licensed counselor, the group covered all aspects. “I think people will really get a perspective from the people there,” Tumma said. “They will see some of the history of what people heard from their parents or how they have seen Greenwood transform. They will see a bunch of different perspectives. They will see people who have been there for a long time and how Greenwood has transformed or what really needs to be on Greenwood.” Ryan Novozinsky, a sports media junior who is the editor-in-chief of the O’Colly, handled the audio aspect of the multimedia project. His podcasts with the interview subjects — complete with a narration from OSU Police Chief Leon Jones — delved into people’s thoughts on their community. See Documentary on pg. 2