The Chicago Bulls and Oklahoma City Thunder have teamed up to launch a Black History Classroom Exchange program. The virtual program gives high school students in Chicago and Tulsa a chance to learn about two tragic events in U.S. history often left out of school curriculum – the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 and the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
Coming on the heels of the centennial recognition of the Chicago Race Riot and just ahead of the 100-year mark of the Tulsa Race Massacre this spring, the interactive program will reflect on the past in an effort to empower the future and encourage students to explore ways to expand economic empowerment within their communities.
Classroom Exchange Recap OKCxCHI
The Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project uses the power of art to preserve the past and challenge people to create a better future.
The projects co-directors, Dr. Franklin C. Gay and Dr. Peter Cole will help students to contextualize the past within the context of Chicago's present reality.
Greenwood Avenue is a virtual reality experience, created by Ayana Baraka, about a 14-year-old Black girl who lives in the Greenwood District, also known as Black Wall Street, during the 1920’s. This scripted five-part series follows her coming of age story while revealing the history of Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.
*To optimize the experience: download the YouTube App, click on links, use headphones and turn your phone horizontally.
Source: Created by Ayana Baraka, Directed by Spade Robinson, Talibah L. Newman, and Tarik Jackson
Mapping the 1919 Chicago Riot is a collaborative project to visualize the 1919 riot combining original historical sources with modern geospatial technologies. This is a compilation of official reports and contemporary newspaper articles to map and detail incidents of deaths, injury and arson that occurred during the riot, as well as geo-locating original photographs taken during that time. The goal is to make this information freely available to the general public and to provide scholars with spatial data to analyze the riot.
Source: Dr. John Clegg, University of Chicago
In this episode of the PBS series, "The Future of America's Past," learn about the Chicago Race Riot, its continuing legacy and the Chicago 1919 project.
Source: The Future of America's Past, courtesy Field Studio & VPM
The Obama Presidential Center will be a state-of-the-art museum and community space that features the legacy of the Obamas and inspires its visitors to leave their own mark on the world.
The Center will take students on an interactive virtual tour of the center and facilitate a dialogue around economic empowerment, inviting them to translate what they have learned into what they can do to make an impact.
The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission brings the history of the Tulsa Massacre to life through educational events and activities designed for public engagement.
The commission's Project Director, Phil Armstrong, will guide students in a discussion about the massacre and provide students with a preview of the world-class Greenwood Rising center, which will preserve the legacy of Black Wall Street.