Trudy's Why

Tulsa, OK holds a special place in my heart, interwoven into the fabric of my childhood memories. It's where I cherished Christmases with Granny and Pops and spent hot summers at the pool with my cousins. 

My mother and her eight siblings grew up in the northern part of the city, in a humble two-bedroom house. Even in my youth, I recognized this neighborhood as predominantly Black and underserved—a stark reality that persists today. 

Now, I understand Tulsa as a city still bearing visible scars from the repeated economic oppression of African Americans. This oppression has manifested violently, from slavery to the devastating 1921 Race Massacre, where White rioters destroyed the thriving Black community of Greenwood. It has also been systematic, evident in practices like redlining, urban renewal, predatory financial schemes, and racial disparities within the justice system. Each of these injustices has weighed heavily on the African American community in Tulsa, and despite the passage of time, neither my family nor the community as a whole has been made whole. 

This is the history of my family and the context from which my advocacy for reparations emerges. Can you guess which adorable youngster is me?

Troy's Why

When I reflect on my story, it often reminds me of the great Stevie Wonder song “I Wish”, starting with “Looking back on when I was a little nappy-headed boy” (and not just because of the hair) …because times were often rough, but we made the most of it, and I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything… You see I am from Columbus, Ohio, born at a time, 1965, when the civil rights movement was in full effect. My parents married at a young age and had me and my little brother before they were barely in their 20s. They were also civil rights activists who participated in the movement, organizing marches, strikes, boycotts, etc. And they taught us to be proud of who we were and where we came from. 

But my family life soon would become even more impacted by America’s unfair treatment of Black and poor people when my father was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, even though he was married and had 2 small children to care for, 3-year-old me and my infant brother. He refused the draft because he believed it was unfair to fight a war for a country where he was denied the same fundamental rights and equal opportunities as white Americans. He was sentenced to 3 years in federal prison, by a white judge who routinely gave white conscientious objectors a sentence of community service. 

Throughout my childhood, we often lived with extended family members to survive, and when I turned 12, we moved from Columbus, Ohio to go live with my aunt in San Rafael, California, which is a small town in Marin County, a short car ride across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. 

Talk about culture shock, Marin County is one of the most affluent and homogenized white places to live in the entire country. So not only did I leave everything and almost everyone I’d ever known, but I also went from living in mostly Black, inner-city, lower-income neighborhoods, (my elementary school was 98% Black) to a suburban, affluent, and predominately white community (my new school was probably 90% white, with only a handful of other Black students). 

But this move opened my mind and taught me how to get along with everyone and forced me to find common ground to work with people from all walks of life. It also enlightened me to understanding generational wealth and how it’s maintained, seeing how people with financial security and living in safe environments allow children to grow up believing in their ability to accomplish anything they set their minds on. Moreover, I've seen how this comfort level and privilege will enable folks to thrive in this country and continue to provide and maintain wealth for future generations.
 
In closing, I believe this economic safety net (generational wealth) that African Americans have been systematically excluded from attaining throughout this country's history is what reparations can help bring to many African Americans who are struggling and unable to create the same opportunities for their families.