Community Engagement Genealogy Project

The City of Tulsa is in the implementation phase of the Emmett Till Grant – a three-year, $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in partnership with the Tulsa Police Department, Greenwood Cultural Center and Intermountain Forensics - the laboratory assisting the City with DNA and genealogical analysis for the 1921 Graves Investigation.

The work through the grant is known as the Community Engagement Genealogy Project (CEGP).  

CEGP consists of the following, all of which are underway and planned:  

• Tulsa Police Department training will be held on genealogy to help the department further understand the Tulsa Race Massacre and historical trauma as it relates to their job and Tulsa’s Black community. This work is in the planning phases and will be taught by Intermountain Forensics and Greenwood Cultural Center. Preliminary training is expected to start in the coming months.  
• Genetic Genealogy Workshops are planned for an invite-only group beginning soon. Workshops hosted at Greenwood Cultural Center will be led by Alison Wilde of Intermountain Forensics and local genealogists. The workshops aim to introduce participants to genealogy software and resources that will assist them in better understanding their connection to the Tulsa Race Massacre and their own family histories. Subsequent genealogy workshops will be available to the public.
• An Exhibit at Greenwood Cultural Center named “Gathering Greenwood” is being designed and will be an interactive exhibit about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, survivors, and descendants. It will house a permanent exhibit that will allow community members to explore and research their own family genealogy with an onsite library. Per grant requirements, an exhibit will need to be completed by the end of 2025, with components that include both an exhibit that stays at Greenwood Cultural Center, and one that will travel. Planning work is underway to determine what the exhibit could look like.

More Information

• Kyra Carby, City of Tulsa Community Genealogy Grant Coordinator, kcarby@cityoftulsa.org
• Michelle Burdex, Greenwood Cultural Center Program Coordinator, info@greenwoodculturalcenter.com 
• Intermountain Forensics, idteam@tulsa1921dna.org