Houston Rockets superstar Russell Westbrook will serve as executive producer of a new docuseries on the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.
Per Variety, the nine-time NBA All-Star and 2017 MVP is partnering with entertainment company Blackfin to produce the series titled, “Terror In Tulsa: The Rise And Fall of Black Wall Street.”
Documentary filmmaker Stanley Nelson will direct the series, which will combine both past and present-day narratives to investigate the tragic event and its continuing impact, according to the Variety report.
The “Terror in Tulsa” film will include input from local organizations such as the Tulsa Historical Society & Museum, The John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation, the Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission, and the Historic Vernon AME Church.
Now 31 years old, Westbrook learned about the Black Wall Street tragedy during his first 11 NBA seasons in Oklahoma City. He said:
Spending 11 years in Oklahoma opened my eyes to the rich and sordid history of the state. 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.
Russell Westbrook is teaming with celebrated documentary filmmaker Stanley Nelson for a docuseries on the Tulsa race massacre of 1921 https://t.co/CRFNg1QAx9
— Variety (@Variety) June 9, 2020
The announcement comes after weeks of U.S. protests due to the death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for over eight minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis.
On Sunday, Westbrook spoke at a Black Lives Matter protest event near his hometown of Los Angeles. “It’s impossible for you to understand what happens today if you don’t understand the past,” Westbrook wrote on social media following the protest. “Let’s continue to fight.”
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