Grants announced for Black landmarks in OKC, Tulsa
Two endangered Black landmarks in Oklahoma City and the only surviving structure from the 1921 massacre of “Black Wall Street” in Tulsa are among 27 grant recipients named Thursday by the National Trust f or Historic Preservation.
More than $1.6 million in grants are being awarded through the African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund to the trust' s third class of 27 sites and organizations.
All three sites in Oklahoma are in need of significant repair and are of significant historical significance.
In Oklahoma City, the Lyons Mansion, also known as the Luster Mansion, and the Brock way Center were saved from potential destruction.
The Lyons Mansion, 300 NE 3, is a two-story home built by S.D. Lyons with the small fortune he made from his Sun-Ray Toilet Preparation Co.
Behind the home, there still stands a matchi ng brick structure that housed Lyons' cosmetics firm, which marketed such products as Sun-Ray Face Bl each ," pressing oil" for hair, face powder and perfumes.
The property is a significant representation of the thriving Deep Deuce community that disappeared when the area was carved up to make way for construction of Interstate 235.
The 3,500- squarefoot Brock way Center, 1401 N Ever est Ave ., was built in 1915 and for a half-century was home to the local chapter of the Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, a group that helped lead in services to the Black community during the segregation era and coordinated civil rights campaigns.
A demolition permit was filed for the Brock way Center last year but that plan was halted after protests by preservationists and civil rights veterans.
The Lyons Mansion had been for sale for months and some potential buyers were showing an interest in clearing the site for new development.
In Tulsa, work first started on Vernon Chapel A ME in 1919, but after mobs of white Tulsans descended on Greenwood (“Black Wall Street”) in 1921, t he church, along with nearly the entire district, was destroyed. Only the basement survived.
The church was rebuilt in just seven years. The congregation is trying to raise $1 million to address long-needed repairs.
The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund, led by Brent Leggs, is a multi-year in it iative l ed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to make an important and lasting contribution to elevating the stories and places of African American resilience, activism, and achievement
“The recipients of this funding exemplify centuries of African American resilience, activism, and achievement, some known and some yet untold, that tells the complex story of American history in the United States,” Leggs said .“Over the past two years, the National Trust funded 65 historic African American places and invested more than $4.3 million to help preserve landscape sand buildings imbued with Black life, humanity, and cultural heritage.”
Those supporting the Action Fund include Cliff Hudson, former CEO of Sonic, and scholar Leslie Hudson. Their $100,000 donation to the National Trust is dedicated to scaling up the Action Fund's impact to help preserve Oklahoma City's African American history and culture.
“From Ralph Ellison to Deep Deuce, our community must grow its commitment to telling its African American story and preserving the few remaining places left to tell it ,” Hudson said. “Our shared history has exceptional value and should be celebrated for the world to see.”
Cathy O' Connor, who oversees the Urban Renewal Authority and the related Oklahoma City Redevelopment Authority, said the $75,000 allocated for the two properties will go toward creating plans on determining how to best fund their restoration and come up with economically viable plans for their long-term use.
“Urban Renewal owns the Lyons Mansion and the Redevelopment Authority owns Brock way Center ,” O'Connor said. “We are maintaining them and keeping them from deteriorating any further until we complete the planning study with the National Trust.”
O' Connor said both buildings are being eyed as potential homes for non-profit a gencies. Specific proposals include a community women's health center at Brockway, which is in the Oklahoma Health Center, while Lyons also is being looked at for commercial uses including a bed and breakfast, restaurant and jazz club. Uses for the ad joining Sun-Ray building could include a business incubator or a cultural arts and crafts incubator.
“We recognize the historic and contemporary cultural disruptions and economic loss some communities experi en ced as a result of federal and local policy decisions ,” O' Connor said. “The physical and psychological affects disproportionately impacted generations of African Americans. As an institution, we are committed to the rebirth and activation of these historic jewels of Oklahoma City's past.”