Tulsa finally gets federal monument to 1921 race massacre and Black Wall Street

What it does

This bill establishes the Historic Greenwood District—Black Wall Street National Monument in Tulsa, Oklahoma as a unit of the National Park System to preserve and interpret the history of the Greenwood District, Black Wall Street, and the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The Secretary of the Interior acquires land through donation, purchase from willing sellers, or exchange, and an advisory commission composed primarily of descendants of 1921 Greenwood residents guides the monument's development and management.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative mechanism is the establishment of a National Monument to preserve and interpret a specific historical site and event. It is a straightforward commemorative and educational measure with no hidden provisions or unrelated riders.

What the text implies

• The 10-year termination of the advisory commission (section 5(i)) means descendant voice in monument governance ends a decade after establishment, potentially shifting control to federal bureaucracy and reducing community input on long-term interpretation and management decisions.
• The bill does not specify funding levels or appropriations, leaving the monument's actual development and visitor services dependent on future congressional appropriations decisions, which may constrain or delay implementation.
• The 'willing seller' acquisition language protects property rights but may slow or limit the monument's geographic scope if key parcels within the proposed boundary are not voluntarily sold, potentially fragmenting the preserved area.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

The bill creates a federally protected historic site and educational resource centered on a significant but historically suppressed event in American racial history, giving citizens and future generations access to preserved resources and interpretation of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The acquisition mechanism protects private property rights (willing-seller only, no condemnation), and the advisory structure ensures descendants of the affected community have primary voice in the monument's character

Named in the bill

Secretary of the Interior, National Park Service, Historic Greenwood District—Black Wall Street National Monument Advisory Commission, City of Tulsa, Greenwood District descendants

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Democrats.

• Mar 13, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Mar 13, 2025 — Referred to Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources”
• May 22, 2025 — Reported out of committee · Congress.gov: “Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources discharged by Unanimous Consent”
• May 22, 2025 — Passed the Senate · Congress.gov: “Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S3137-3138; text: CR S3137-3138)”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

1 lobbying clients named this bill on 2 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $180,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 70 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.

James Lankford, the sponsor, reported $368,500 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• Sierra Club — $180,000 on 2 filings

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 14, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.