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An open letter to Tulsa visitors on the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
To journalists, photographers, and visitors, pilgrims this week of the centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre: Welcome to Tulsa. Some context may help you interpret what you see and hear this week.
Smithsonian Channel mangles Greenwood history
There was some excitement among Tulsa history buffs when it was learned that the Smithsonian Channel would be showing colorized clips from home movies showing Greenwood, Tulsa's historic African-American district, as it was in the mid-to-late1920s. Instead we have another instance of the erroneous notion I call the "Greenwood...
Greenwood since the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
The story of Tulsa's Greenwood District did not end in 1921.
<em>Whirled</em> behind the wall
Tulsa's sole daily newspaper, the Tulsa World, will launch its new paywall this coming Monday, according to a story at PaidContent.org, which, ironically, is free. The paywall will allow viewing only 10 locally-produced stories a month without a subscription. According to the announcement in the World (see it free while...
Getting to know a new city
Natasha Ball (Tasha Does Tulsa) has posted the notes from her presentation last week at Ignite Tulsa 3 -- 19 Ways to Get to Know Your Town (Even If It's Not Tulsa). All the suggestions are good (except maybe 17 -- if I ever do Foursquare it'll be under a...
PLANiTULSA: My comments to the TMAPC
Here is the text of my email to the TMAPC, submitted prior to the March 10, 2010, public hearing on PLANiTULSA. I also spoke to the TMAPC at that hearing, which you can view at TGOV Online. My remarks begin at 2:46:30.My list of five key qualities of an ideal...
Mayoral audio
Tulsa's mayoral election is on the air. At 8 a.m. this morning (Wednesday, September 30, 2009), 1170 KFAQ will have the two major-party candidates for mayor, Tom Adelson and Dewey Bartlett Jr, in studio for a head-to-head debate. As I understand it, host Pat Campbell will stay in the background...
The Greenwood Gap: My Ignite Tulsa talk
Here it is: Here are some previous entries on BatesLine that touch on Greenwood and include some of the material I shared at Ignite Tulsa.Greenwood's streetcar: The Sand Springs Railroad (includes photos) The rise and fall of Greenwood (includes high res 1951 aerial photo of Deep Greenwood) Greenwood 1957 Film...
Signs of Greenwood's rebuilding
In my Ignite Tulsa talk on the "Greenwood Gap," I mentioned in passing the physical indications of the rebuilding and flourishing of Tulsa's African-American district after it was burned in 1921 by a white mob. I would have included photos of some of those signs, and I had some that...
Watch this space: Notes on my Greenwood talk coming soon
Thanks to the organizers, speakers, and audience for last night's Ignite Tulsa event. It was a great experience, and I only wish I could have stayed through the entire program -- family needs called me home shortly after I spoke. I'm happy I had the chance to come back to...
Ignite Tulsa Thursday night: A wealth of perspective in five-minute pieces
If you've ever wondered, "Is Michael Bates capable of expressing himself concisely?" you and I will both have a chance to find out tomorrow night, Thursday, September 17, 2009, at Ignite Tulsa. The event will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Blue Dome Diner, at 313...
Happy Independence Day!
Today is a day to celebrate America's independence, to remember the reasons our Founding Fathers declared independence, to renew our commitment to the liberties that they sought to secure, and to thank the Creator for the rights with which He has endowed us and for giving us, in His providence,...
State of the city
Jamie Jamieson, developer of the Village at Central Park and outgoing president of TulsaNow has written a letter reflecting on the state of the city and the state of TulsaNow to mark the end of his term of office. Jamie reviews some of 2004's positive developments, including the emergence of...
Opportunity Cost: The Danger of Doing Something Rather Than Nothing
In the previous entry, I brought up the notion of the "opportunity cost" -- "the advantage forgone as the result of the acceptance of an alternative" -- and I applied it to the impact of the proposed sales tax increase on a typical Tulsa County family. The same concept applies...
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