Paper florists against racism -
The Greenwood Memorial Project
In collaboration with The Wild Mother, their florist friends and the 2021 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission, our paper flower community has been invited to create a large installation of lilies and install it in the new Greenwood Rising Museum located in the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma for the opening of the museum on June 2nd.
The opening of the Greenwood Rising Museum is part of a month-long memorial event organized by the Commission to mark the centennial anniversary of the 1921 Greenwood Massacre in Tulsa.
This project is the first for the #paperfloristsagainstracism initiative.
1921 Greenwood Massacre
On May 31, 1921, an encounter between two young people, Dick Rowland, a Black man and Sarah Page, a White woman who were suspected among the Black community to be lovers, resulted in a rumor that Ms. Page was sexually violated by Mr. Rowland. This angered white men in Tulsa, who had already been uncomfortable about the sustainability of the Greenwood District. The protections in place to prevent massacres easily disintegrated under the rage of Klan members and the passivity of law enforcement, and by the end of June 1, 1921, all 40 blocks of the district had been burned to the ground. Historians suspect upwards of 300 people lost their lives in the destruction. And, once vibrant businesses & banks were lost, leaving Black Tulsans in poverty and fleeing Oklahoma to find safety.
Descendants of Greenwood victims say some of their family members died of heartbreak and post traumatic stress disorder in their new homes.
Today, the Greenwood district has yet to be restored to its original economic power, as much of the land is now owned by White investors. The Centennial commemorative events for Greenwood, held this year, include the dedication of Greenwood Rising, a history museum. Efforts are underway to push this story of the worst race massacre in our nation out of the shadows. To help tell his hidden story, documentaries and films are being promised and funded by Russell Westbrook and Lebron James among others.
Text from The Wild Mother: https://www.thewildmother.com/sendflowersto-1/2021/2/9/sendflowerstogreenwood
Collaboration with The Wild Mother
The Greenwood Rising Dedication is the second of three floral installations planned by The Wild Mother for their part in the commemorative memorial event, called #sendflowerstogreenwood.
The other two fresh floral installations will be installed on May 31 for the Centennial Commemorative Program and June 5 for the Dreamland Again musical experience. You can read more about the installations organized by The Wild Mother here.
The full Centennial Commemoration event schedule can be viewed here.
We had the privilege of speaking with Lauren and Leah Palmer of The Wild Mother on Paper Talk - Episode 91 to talk about #sendflowerstogreenwood and how we can use art to heal.
Image courtesy of The Wild Mother
“In the 100 years that have passed since the Massacre, there have been so few sincere attempts at honoring the lives lost. A thriving town lost. Legacies lost. It is in a solemn and sincere posture that we are welcoming you to memorialize the precious lives lost in the Greenwood Massacre.” - The Wild Mother
Our Involvement
When Amy McGee (Botanical Brouhaha) and Sue McCleary (Passion Flower Sue) approached us to work on this project with The Wild Mother, we knew immediately in our hearts that this was a project we were meant to participate in. Not only would this be an amazing opportunity to present paper floristry alongside fresh floristry, but it was also a cause that hits close to home as Quynh grew up in Tulsa. There are very few records, if any, of this race riot and most of what we now know about the massacre that has been passed on through oral stories alone.
Our call to our community of paper florists resulted in the creation of a large white lily arch installation called “Send Flowers to Greenwood” that is now in the Greenwood Rising Museum:
"Send Flowers To Greenwood '' is one of three floral installations—two fresh & one paper—installed for events commemorating the centennial of the Greenwood Massacre. Holding a belief that Art is Medicine as well as a means to achieve Justice, we worked alongside with The Wild Mother to provide this in-kind donation to the Greenwood Rising Museum as a means of storytelling, history keeping, and creative collective healing. This installation consists of more than 500 paper lilies and it is a collaborative effort of over 50 volunteers who handmade each lily, lily bud, and assembled lilies into its final form. Each paper lily immortalizes the souls of those killed during the Greenwood Massacre.
A list of every volunteer and sponsor are listed below. This list is in a wall text next to the installation at the Greenwood Rising Museum.
Images on left courtesy of www.tulsa2021.org
FEATURED ARTISTS & SPONSORS:
Quynh Nguyen (USA)
Jessie Chui (CANADA)
Beth Hammon (USA)
Abby Seymour (USA)
Holly Dionisi (CANADA)
Marineta Kropke (USA)
Finnuala Tessier (USA)
Shruthi Aramandla (USA)
Sarah Kain (USA)
Nora Fradin (USA)
Karen (USA)
Wendy Middaugh (USA)
Carol Johansen (USA)
Laura Weale (USA)
Andie Ochoa (USA)
Christina Funderburgh (USA)
María Clara Lemaitre (UK)
Judi Davis (USA)
Sharyn Berki (USA)
Nicole Nielsen (USA)
Faith Neilsen (USA)
Krista McPhee (CANADA)
Liliana Lytvyn (CANADA)
Connie Savage (USA)
Lauren Doyle (USA)
Lindsay Nystrom (USA)
Shoshana Radka (USA)
Victoria Welch (USA)
Dana Tezanos-Pinto (USA)
Jamie Whitacre (USA)
Silvet (UK)
Indira Sanchez (USA)
Nicky Brown (UK)
Melanie Hickey (CANADA)
Ashley Reagan (USA)
Rosemary Joaquin (USA)
Megan McGrath (USA)
Mary Madonia (USA)
Beth Respess (USA)
Gina Arzola (USA)
Corinne Monique Long (CANADA)
Tori Welch (USA)
Linda Drysdale (USA)
Kaylie Macphail (UK)
Candice Lane (USA)
Corinne Long (USA)
Vikki Nakamura (USA)
Michelle Foy (USA)
Dana Tezanos-Pinto (USA)
Ted Bourke (USA)
Anonymous (USA)
Von Swain (USA)
Anonymous (USA)
April Vaughn (USA)
Minh-Chau Nguyen (USA)
Thoedora Gutsell (USA)
Lynn Perry (USA)
Anonymous (USA)
Tonneli Gruetter (USA)
Mary Goodwin (USA)
Anonymous (USA)
Karen Bullitt (USA)
Rebecca Thai (USA)
Stephen Brooks (USA)
Lauren Palmer (Oklahoma City, USA)
Leah Palmer (Oklahoma City, USA)
Callie Palmer (Oklahoma City, USA)
How to Support this Initiative
Learn
You can learn more about the Greenwood Race Massacre and share what you learned with your family, friends, and community.
Volunteer
You can volunteer by creating a paper flower lily (or more!) and sending them to Oklahoma for the installation. For more information, download the Volunteer Information Sheet. To sign up as a Volunteer, click on the button below.
SIGN-UP TO VOLUNTEERDonate
Help fund this initiative by making a small donation. Since all of us are doing it on a volunteer basis, it would really help if we can offset the costs for the volunteers on site. Just before the event, we raised $1,900 to cover 6-night meal and board for the 3 volunteers on the ground, the materials, and a photographer. We are still about $900 short so we would appreciate any additional donations. Thank you so much for your generosity!
MAKE A DONATIONShare
Spread the word!
Post an art piece in any medium (like your paper flower lily!) and use the hashtag #PFAR to support the Paper Florists Against Racism initiative. Make sure to tag @papertalkpodcast so we can reshare and amplify!
Also consider using these hashtags to support the overall cause: #sendflowersto #sendflowerstogreenwood #greenwoodrising #greenwoodmemorialproject #artheals #flowersforgreenwood #artismedicine #PFAR
