Black Wall Street Gallery exhibits 21 Piece Salute which is 21 pieces from 21 artists who salute the predecessors who lost their lives in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
This exhibition is featuring 21 Black artists, they are Charica Daugherty, Robert Peterson, Amani Lewis, Brandan “BMike” Odums, Chiamonu Joy Ifeyinwa, Ike Slimster, Ronnie Rob, Chris Clark, Watson Mere, Dana-Marie Bullock, Chris Wilson, Troy Jones, Cory Ford, Jeffrey Melo, Zeph Farmby, Philip A. Robinson Jr., Harold D. Smith Jr., Carl Bocicault, Will Watson, and Kay Hickman.
May 31st and June 1st, 2021 marked the 100th years of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. In the Tulsa Race Massacre, white mob residents attacked Black residents and burned businesses area in the Greenwood District, Tulsa, Oklahoma. Nearly 300 Black people were killed, more than 800 were admitted to hospitals, and 35 blocks of businesses and homes were destroyed.
Charica Daugherty, Black Wall Street Rising, 2021. https://bwsgallery.com/21-piece-salute
21 Piece Salute highlights artists’ perspectives on their inspiring predecessors who lived in the time of the race massacre in Tusla. Dr. Ricco Wright, the curator as well as a fourth-generation Tulsan, said “this marquee exhibition is not focused on revisiting the massacre as much as it focuses on continuing the legacy of Black Wall Street for the next hundred years by building generational wealth through art. The pioneers of Black Wall Street were standard-bearers of group economics and black entrepreneurship, and today we continue that thread.”
This exhibition also aims to represent Black artists in visual arts. Until now, “the art world is primarily filled with white spaces for white people”. Wright wants to transform museums to be more inclusive spaces.
The sad news from this exhibition is someone has vandalized the gallery’s name on the front window. NBC New York has released this news on May 31st, 2021. The word ‘black’ in Black Wall Street Gallery has been painted with white paint. “That to me constitutes hate speech,” said Dr. Ricco Wright. He convinced this defacement was related to the 21 Piece Salute exhibition.
The front window of the Black Wall Street Gallery. Courtesy of https://www.nbcnewyork.com/
This exhibition is really noteworthy, because it commemorates the history of the Tusla Race Massacre, represents today’s challenges and bright hopes for Black people’s struggle for equality.
21 Piece Salute will set to run through June 19th at Black Wall Street Gallery, in its new location at 26 Mercer Street, New York, NY 10013.