Russell Westbrook’s time in Oklahoma City as a member of the Thunder is in the rearview of his basketball career, but the mark he made in the community there is still felt to this day, and it’s clear the impact Oklahoma had on him has influenced him off the court as well. Westbrook will help create a docuseries that looks at one of the most vile instances of racism in the history of the United States, a massacre in Tulsa’s Black Wall Street.
According to Variety, Westbrook will work with Stanley Nelson and Blackfin — who produced Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez Netflix — on a project titled Terror In Tulsa: The Rise And Fall of Black Wall Street.
The series is described as both an exploration of America’s past, and also a “urgent, sobering look at the social, economic and political lines that continue to divide the country.” It will inter-weave both past and present-day narratives in order to investigate the tragic event and its continuing impact.
Westbrook, who led a Black Lives Matter protest in Compton over the weekend, explained the importance of the project to him after learning about a brutal chapter of American history that’s often forgotten.
“Spending 11 years in Oklahoma opened my eyes to the rich and sordid history of the state,” Westbrook said according to Variety. “When I learned about the heartbreaking events that happened in Tulsa nearly 100 years ago, I knew this was a story I wanted to tell. It’s upsetting that the atrocities that transpired then, are still so relevant today. It’s important we uncover the buried stories of African Americans in this country. We must amplify them now more than ever if we want to create change moving forward.”
For Nelson, the project will entail telling the story of those who died and the subsequent coverup that’s largely shielded its retelling as Americans learn about their history.
“There is no story more poignant or relevant to the racially charged events unfolding before us today, the frustration, the outrage, the outcry for justice in the wake of the George Floyd killing,” Nelson said in a statement. “The story of Tulsa reveals a significant chapter in the American experience leading up to this moment. It is a story that needs to be treated with dignity, grounded in cultural authenticity, and portrayed with historical accuracy in order to truly understand the impact it has had on our nation. From the cover-ups of the massacre in 1921, to the uncovering of the mass graves left in its wake, the story of Tulsa is the harsh example of not only the history of violence against black people in America, but also the great American sin of burying it out of sight, and pretending that it never happened. For many, it is hard to believe such an atrocity occurred. For others, these atrocities are simply part of the American journey.”
It’s unclear when the series will hit screens, but Nelson is expected to direct while Westbrook serves as an executive producer.
