Election Of Mayor Monroe Nichols IV: A Historic Step Forward In Tulsa, But Our Fight Continues.

By Damario Solomon-Simmons\Justice for Greenwood

Photos: YouTube Screenshots\Wikimedia Commons

Recently, my hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma—a place that holds both beautiful memories and painful truths for me and so many others—made history by electing my friend Monroe Nichols IV, as its first Black mayor.

For those of us connected to Tulsa’s complex history, this moment carries deep, personal significance.  

Tulsa is where the convergence of Black Indians and African Americans created Greenwood—the greatest Black community in this nation’s history.

Freedmen of the Muscogee Creek Nation, as co-founders of Greenwood, welcomed Black people, where dreams realized were born from a life of love, freedom, and opportunity.  

It is also where the 1921 Race Massacre took place, a horrific event that destroyed lives and obliterated the prosperity of Black families. Even after the reemergence of Greenwood following the massacre, it was destroyed again through the discriminatory use of Urban Renewal. That pain runs deep, and for decades, survivors, their descendants, and our community as a whole have been fighting for justice and recognition.

While that vision has been overshadowed by systemic denial and discrimination, it’s a vision I continue to believe in. As a native Tulsan and civil rights attorney, I have the privilege of standing alongside the last known living survivors of the massacre and their descendants, as well as the Black Creek Freedmen, who are still being denied their rightful benefits by the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. These struggles aren’t just historical; they are personal, ongoing, and urgent.

As we welcome Mayor Nichols’ leadership, I feel hopeful about the possibilities ahead. During his inauguration, he said something that stayed with me: “I knew I was accountable to the law and the Lord, but now as your mayor, I am also fully accountable to every citizen of our city.”

For me, this isn’t just a symbolic moment—it’s a chance to work toward real collaboration, healing, and progress. And I am committed to working alongside Mayor Nichols to ensure his success in his sincere desire to make Tulsa the nation’s greatest city.

However, for this vision to be realized, our communities deserve acknowledgment, justice, and equity—not tomorrow, but now.

Damario Solomon-Simmons,

Attorney and Executive Director of Justice for Greenwood