TULSA, Okla. (AP) — Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he hopes a $1 million donation for public art in Tulsa will bring needed attention to an ugly part of America’s past.
Money for the Greenwood Art Project will fund temporary artworks commemorating Black Wall Street, an area largely destroyed during deadly racial violence in 1921. Estimates of those slain vary widely, from three dozen to more than 300.
Bloomgberg, a potential candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, joined Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum and artist Rick Lowe on Thursday to celebrate the gift from the Bloomberg Philanthropies 2018 Public Art Challenge , announced earlier this week .
The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission is a partner in the project.
Bloomberg also met with Moms Demand Action volunteers and survivors of gun violence in Tulsa.