The push to make Tulsa’s historic Greenwood District a national monument continues more than a century after a white mob destroyed the affluent Black neighborhood in the nation’s largest race massacre.

The district, also known as Black Wall Street, was the site of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

On May 31 and June 1 that year, roughly 35 blocks of the nation’s most prosperous Black community were destroyed. While official reports place the death toll at 36 people, unofficial estimates indicate hundreds were killed.

A total of 1,256 homes and 191 businesses were burned, along with churches, schools, a hospital and a library.

Last month during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing, U.S. Sen. James Lankford urged support for his bill to establish the Historic Greenwood District — Black Wall Street National Monument.

“North Tulsa remains a place of light and hope as the community continues to show their strength to overcome adversity and work toward reconciliation, which is something our nation should never forget,” Lankford said. “I am grateful for the tireless efforts of so many in North Tulsa and in our state to make sure our children today and the generations yet unborn remember those lost, understand the stain of racism, and learn the powerful story of rebuilding and resilience.”

Lankford was joined by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, of New Jersey, in filing the legislation.

National monuments are areas that are protected by the federal government due to their historic or scientific interest. The United States has more than 125 national monuments that include parts of national parks and various historic sites.

“The Historic Greenwood District-Black Wall Street area in North Tulsa deserves its place among our nation’s significant historic locations,” Lankford said during the hearing.

The massacre is reported to have started with an accusation that Dick Rowland, a 19-year-old shoe shiner, assaulted a white female teenager on an elevator at the Drexel Building, 319 S Main St.

The female was an elevator operator named Sarah Page, 17. The pair likely knew each other, according to the 2001 Tulsa Race Riot Commission.

The commission investigation found police interviewed Page but that she made no allegations of assault against Rowland.

Tulsa residents hope to maintain the momentum

Area residents welcome the idea of making Greenwood a national monument, some with cautious optimism.

“I think the neighborhood is skeptical about efforts like that until they see tangible benefits,” Carlos Moreno, author of “The Victory of Greenwood,” told The Oklahoman.

Moreno said he is for the national monument, but the question of how it will positively impact Greenwood residents and businesses needs to be answered.

“Greenwood has seen many, many projects like this and that question never gets answered or something is sold and the community says ‘yes’ and five years later, 10 years later the community goes ‘oh yes, this was supposed to benefit us,’” he said.

Tiffany Crutcher, a descendant of a survivor of the massacre and the founder and executive director of the Terence Crutcher Foundation, said national monuments teach lessons.

“I think people need to understand what a national monument is and what it isn’t, that’s first and foremost,” she said. “We have national monuments in this country to preserve a story or a significant occurrence, and I think that’s important for us to do in Tulsa.”

Crutcher suggested it is critical to maintain the momentum of keeping people aware of the massacre.

“This story recently came into the consciousness of the country during the centennial,” she said. “So many didn’t know this happened, never heard of it, and as a descendant of a survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, I think it’s important to preserve this story, not just the tragedy but the triumphs.”

That sentiment was echoed recently by Vice President Kamala Harris.

Harris posted a message on social media platform X on May 31, which reads:

“On May 31, 1921, a white supremacist mob attacked a thriving business district known as Black Wall Street. Hundreds of residents in the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa were killed as Black homes, businesses, and churches were burned to the ground. 103 years later, this history must be taught and remembered. I am grateful for Mother Fletcher, the oldest known survivor, for continuing to underscore the horrors of what happened in Tulsa. Together, we must fight extremists’ attempts to ban books and rewrite our past. Moving toward progress, justice, and opportunity for all requires that we speak the truth.”

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Greenwood District, site of Tulsa Race Massacre, may become monument