A Tulsa pastor is leading an effort to create a new state holiday honoring the victims and survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. If successful, Greenwood Remembrance and Reconciliation Day would be observed every year on June 1st.

We sat down with Francetta Mays, Associate Pastor at Vernon AME Church and the petition’s curator, and State Representative Ronald Stewart, who supports the effort.

What is the goal of the proposed state holiday?

“The goal is that when we have our flags flying half staff, that it’s in remembrance of those innocent children, men and women that lost their lives.”

The day would serve as an annual reminder of the massacre and a symbol of healing for the Greenwood community and beyond.

Why is this effort personal for Pastor Mays?

Mays conducts historical to

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