| Below is a reflection of First Repairs Regional Reparations Retreat, written by Howard University 3L Law School Student and AARN Intern, Pablo Vasquez. Held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, this three-day event aimed to unite diverse stakeholders—activists, community leaders, and policymakers—to discuss strategies and develop actionable plans for addressing historical injustices and advancing reparations. |
In June 2024, FirstRepair Regional Reparations Retreat took place in the renowned city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The retreat lasted a total of three days and it was filled with meaningful panels and talks and tours. We began everyday by gathering at the Historic Vernon AME Church, the only building that survived the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The church was a welcoming and safe space and it added an air of sanctity to all of the proceedings.
One highlight for me was an interview between journalist Kristal Brent Zook and Reverend Dr. Robert Turner, pastor of Empowerment Temple AME Church. Pastor Turner marches from Baltimore, Maryland, to Washington, D.C., every single month to advocate for reparations. It’s a 40-mile journey that he completes, without fail, every single month – rain or shine, sleet or snow. Zook asked Pastor Turner how he endures the physical strain of these monthly marches and he gave a profound answer that I believe can serve as a guide for all of us in the reparations movement. He said “first you build your spiritual power, then you build your physical power, then your political power, and then your economic power.”
Overall, the retreat was an affirming and reenergizing experience for all and it truly couldn’t have come at a better time. I say this because exactly one day before the retreat began, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma released their ruling in a lawsuit brought by the last remaining survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
Unfortunately, but perhaps predictably, the Court dismissed the case of the survivors, both of whom are well over 100-years old (there was a third survivor who was a part of the original suit but he passed away last year before this most recent ruling). The survivors brought two claims – public nuisance and unjust enrichment. Both claims were rejected by the Court.
For the public nuisance claim in particular, the survivors argued that as a result of the massacre, they continue to face racially disparate treatment and city-created barriers to basic human needs like jobs, education, housing, and healthcare. In rejecting this argument, the Court wrote: “even accepting as true Plaintiffs’ claim that the lingering economic and social consequences of the Massacre still, to some extent, endanger the comfort and repose of the Greenwood and North Tulsa communities, those lingering consequences over one-hundred years later, standing alone, do not constitute a public nuisance, as that term has been construed by this Court. The continuing blight alleged within the Greenwood community born out of the Massacre implicates generational-societal inequities that can only be resolved by policymakers—not the courts.”
Though it is not always the case, courts are generally limited in their policymaking authority. The Supreme Court of Oklahoma relied on that limit to justify its ruling. However, this ruling does not have to be the end of this story. Something that stood out to me during the retreat was the diversity of thoughts, opinions, backgrounds, and experiences in the reparations movement. That diversity also applies to diversity of strategy as well.
Reparations won’t be won in the courts alone. Reparations won’t be won in the halls of the capitol either. Rather, reparations will be won everywhere; it has to be. Reparations will be won in local city council elections. Reparations will be won in the district courts. Reparations will be won through a series of resolutions and ordinances. Reparations will be won through the Oklahoma state legislature amending the public nuisance law to allow for victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre to bring claims for redress against the government. Reparations will be won through landmark court rulings. Reparations will be won through community organizing campaigns, and block parties, and retreats, and songs and dances and laughter and love.
Reparations is more than just a movement. Reparations is eudaimonia; it is the feeling of freedom and joy and community that comes from joining the fight for justice. That is why this year’s retreat was so important. We rested, we recovered, we reenergized, and now, we continue the fight.
– Pablo Vasquez, Howard University 3L and AARN Intern