By Margaret Bush Ware, 5th Episcopal District
In 2018, the Historic Vernon AME Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma was placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior. It is recognized as the only structure (basement) left of the Historic Black Wall Street Massacre. I returned to my home church for the 100-year commemoration on May 30th and 31st. Remembering the hallowed walls of Vernon was by itself emotional. Knowing that more than 300 lives were lost during the horrific race riot of 1921 made me tremble each time a speaker spoke in honor of those that were murdered in the Greenwood District.
Hats off to Rev. Dr. Robert Richard Allen Turner (Pastor of Vernon AME) for making each day special for those that attended. A photo display had framed pictures of the members of VAME that were survivors of the massacre. I knew Mrs. Ernestine Gibbs and Mr. Robert Fairchild when I was a child. Also included
in the photographic tribute were John R. Emerson, Sr.; Mrs. Eurice and Mr. S. M. Jackson; Lucille Figures; Dr. R. T. Bridgewater; Olivia J. Hooker, and Maggie Bell Williams Hamel.
The Church interior had all the shades and hues of the color spectrum represented in the newly installed and restored stained glass windows with donor identity. These stunning windows continue to dazzle the mind and the eye after more than 70 years of my seeing them.
Sunday, May 30th, the Church was filled with dignitaries including national legislatures (Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Congressman James Clyburn (D-SC); and local government officials; Episcopal leaders…the Rt. Rev. Harry Seawright (9th Episcopal District), and the Rt. Rev. Michael Mitchell (12th Episcopal District), along with familiar faces from the past. The Holy Spirit filled the sanctuary through musical selections beginning with Vernon’s “Praise and Worship” team, gospel singer Darius Brooks and Santita Jackson, daughter of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. Reverend Turner’s sermon was titled “Lest We Forget!” which was apropos considering the 100 years that had almost been forgotten
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Reverend Jesse Jackson made sure the offering goal was met by encouraging donors to be generous with their donations. The generosity of the attendees far exceeded their expectations. Donations will be used for the renewal and continued rebuilding of the historical church. Service ended with all in attendance joining hands singing “We Shall Overcome.”
Monday, the 31st, singer Phena Hackett offered a soul stirring rendition of “I Want Jesus to Walk With Me,” prior to the Rt. Rev. Michael Leon Mitchell preaching from the topic “Now is Not The Time For America to Forget!” Although rarely mentioned in textbooks (I was never taught there was a race riot when I attended the Tulsa public schools), there is no question that the Tulsa Race Massacre was one of the most horrific incidents of racial violence in American history. Bishop Mitchell paraphrased the words from James Weldon Johnson’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” by saying “we must remember what God has brought us through!”
When the service was over the entire congregation moved outside to the south side of the Church for the “Prayer Wall for Racial Healing” dedication service. The basement of Vernon AME Church was the only building left standing after the riot. Survivors hid in the rooms of the basement to avoid being killed. Rev. Turner chose to create the Prayer Wall on the basement bricks as a place for all people to come and pray.
Members of Congress represented by Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE); Barbara Lee (D-CA); and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) placed a wreath at the Prayer Wall. Photo ops were allowed for attendees.
Participants re-entered the sanctuary for the unveiling of the “Book of Redemption.” The book was discovered in a storage box in the basement of Vernon after almost one hundred years. It contained the names and amount of pledges/donations made by members of the church to rebuild after the massacre. Pages were soiled from moisture and badly damaged. Sarah Stitt, wife of Governor Kevin Stitt (R-OK), was responsible for introducing Rev. Turner to the “Museum of the Bible.” They performed the six-month task of restoring this historic relic of the church.
On a walking tour of the area, the Greenwood Cultural Center is directly across the street from Historic Vernon AME. Inside was the Shirley & Bernard Kinsey Family Collection (they are members of First AME, Los Angeles). The collection includes memorabilia from May 31st and June 1st 1921, along with items from their personal collection of African American artifacts
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On the grounds of Vernon there is a sign from the Community Remembrance Project detailing the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. There is also a mural, which stands across the street from the Greenwood Cultural Center, and adjacent to Vernon AME. The mural was created by artist Michael Rosato depicting the race riot.
Directly across the street from the Church is the “Black Wall Street” mural painted by artist Donald “Scribe” Ross. Taking a photo of Vernon from a distance, one can see the difference in the basement brick color and those bricks that were used to build the edifice after the riot. It was pointed out during the Prayer Wall dedication that the bricks still hold the smell of smoke from the fire of the massacre
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The only buildings left on Greenwood are those leading from Archer to the highway overpass. That area used to be called “Deep Greenwood.” Vernon AME Church stands alone in an area that was once a thriving economy and community of hard working African American citizens of Tulsa. Returning to my birthplace to commemorate 100 years of pride in Black Wall Street was an honor and tribute to our ancestors and the stormy road they trod. Daddy Ben and Auntie Mommie would be proud! (Rev. Benjamin Harrison Hill and First Lady Fannie Ezell Johnson Hill were the pastoral leaders of Vernon AME Church when I attended.)
The Church continued the 1921 Centennial Commemoration with a “God of Our Weary Years” revival. Participants included Dr. Jamal H. Bryant; Dr. Otis Moss, III; Pastor Mathew Watley; Bishop Vashti Murphy-McKenzie, and Rev. Dr. Toni Belin-Ingram. To God be the Glory!
Margaret Bush Ware was born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Her grandfather, Henry Ware, owned and operated “Ware’s Fruit & Confectionery” on Greenwood Avenue. He was also a Trustee at Vernon AME Church. Margaret currently serves as Chair of the Winnie Lumpkin Unit of the Sarah Allen WMS at First AME Church, Los Angeles.
