Tulsa elects first Black mayor 103 years after race massacre

TULSA, Okla. (KFOR) – Tulsa mayor-elect Monroe Nichols has made history as the first Black person elected ever in the city.

The results came Tuesday night in the general election. Unofficial results from the State Election Board show Nichols beat out challenger Karen Keith by more than 13,000 votes. Nichols got the news while celebrating Tuesday at the Greenwood Cultural Center with family, friends and supporters.

"I'm not sure that it's sunk in yet, to be totally honest," said Nichols. "I'd be lying if my next thought wasn't about like the obligation to do the job well, because so many people did go knock on doors and so many people did make phone calls, and so many people flipped their support and decided to attempt to do something that hadn't been done in Tulsa."

Nichols has served in Oklahoma's legislature for the past eight years as a Democrat, although his new position is non-partisan. He's says it's been helpful to work with other legislators across the aisle, and believes it'll be reflective of his leadership style.

"We're going to have a heck of a four years changing the face of Tulsa, and we will do it with everybody, regardless of party, partisan affiliation," said Nichols.

A gallery of Tulsa's mayors is available on the city's website. Nichols will replace mayor G.T. Bynum, the city's 40th mayor, as the 41st mayor.

Dating all the way back to 1898 with Colonel Edward E. Calkins, Tulsa has never had a Black mayor. It was significant especially in 1921 under the 15th mayor of Tulsa, T.D. Evans, who served during the Tulsa Race Massacre.

The massacre saw dozens of blocks with the city burned, including businesses in the city's historic Black Wall Street or Greenwood district. Numerous Black lives were lost and people were hurt.

The last two living survivors lost a legal appeal to Oklahoma's Supreme Court earlier this year after petitioning a District Court Judge for reparations against the perpetrators of the massacre, including the City of Tulsa.

"I think about all the great Black Tulsa Tulsans who rolled through here and did amazing things. It's like handed the baton off and it's a baton that I will also hand off someday, and I want to make sure that I hand it off to the next generation, [and] that I hand them something that's a little bit better than it was when I got it in my hand."

News 4's John Hayes made the trip to Tulsa's Greenwood district Wednesday to get reaction from residents and business owners.

"I cast my vote for a young man who, 100 years ago, would have never been able to have the opportunity to put his head in the ring," said business owner, Starr Fisher.

Fisher's daughter, Honour Rose, is also beginning to learn about the massacre.

"In 1921, Greenwood got burned down and then it got rebuilt," said Rose while explaining what she knew about Greenwood's history.

Rose said she's proud of Nichols and think he's the right person for the job.

"It makes me feel great," said Rose.

Nichols says he has high expectations for what he'll accomplish as the transition begins. He said that early on, he plans to take quick action on the structure of the mayor's office, addressing homelessness, improving student outcomes and public safety.

He says he imagines, within the next few weeks, his team will have announcements around the issues he's campaigned on with homelessness being the top priority.

News 4's John Hayes caught up with current and former Tulsa Public Schools education leaders to talk about the impact on local education.

"His background is very strong in data," said Tulsa School Board President, Stacey Woolley. "He brings that knowledge and understanding of the data to his decision making every day, and he recognizes that school doesn't just happen from eight to three...All of the variable that are outside all of the societal issues that our kids face every single day, he understands those and he knows that until we work as a community to address the issues outside of school we'll never make the sort of progress we need to on behalf of our kids."

Woolley says she's also grateful for the support Nichols showed during a direct threat of a potential state takeover from State Superintendent Ryan Walters. Woolley explains she'll never be able to express how much his support meant when so many other leaders across the state stayed silent.

Another major player in that threat, former Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent, Deborah Gist, offered her endorsement of Nichols as well. She currently serves as the Senior Advisor to the President of the University of Tulsa, and said Nichols ability to help in public education would be just as beneficial at the end of the day to local higher education.

"I've seen the way he engages deeply with the community and he truly is a servant leader in that respect," said Gist. "I'm very grateful for that and looking forward to having a mayor who has that mindset."

Gist says at the end of the day, to improve the education space, you need a city that works collaboratively with the school system and higher education to ensure success for all Tulsans.

News 4's John Hayes also spoke with Dr. Tiffany Crutcher about Nichols. She's the founder of the Terence Crutcher Foundation in Tulsa, which works to free communities from violence and a Tulsa Race Massacre descendant.

"I am a descendent of a survivor of the Tulsa Race massacre, Rebecca Brown Crutcher, who is no longer here, and she's rejoicing now," said Crutcher. "The ancestors are rejoicing right now."

Nichols is hopeful the next generation, future mayors of Tulsa and across the country, can take something away from his win.

"What I hope this election shows people is that you don't have to be from a legacy family," said Nichols. "You don't have to be a millionaire. You got to have a vision, a plan. You got to love this community and you got to go and you got to engage people; and if you do that, you can not only win an election, but you can change the trajectory of the community."

Nichols will be sworn in on December 2.

On Thursday, current Tulsa Mayor, G.T. Bynum, held a news conference announcing a transition office had been open, and that all decision-making would include Nichols.