Student Groups Present Plans To Revitalize Black Wall Street In Tulsa's Thunder Fellows Program

Students from the Thunder Fellows after-school program are sharing ideas to help motivate growth in the Greenwood District.

The students wrapped up a 30-week program and earned awards with a capstone event on June 6. 

Thunder Fellows has an office in Tulsa’s Greenwood District, where participants meet weekly for the program.

The students have been working in groups to come up with projects that would revitalize Black Wall Street.

The 29 students pitched ideas on how to turn the once-devastated historic Greenwood businesses into something that would thrive today.

Tanner Frank just graduated from Tulsa’s Booker T. Washington High School and said his first year with the program has been rewarding.

"So, my pitch, we've taken the old Stratford Hotel that was in Black Wall Street and we're making a new spin on it called Scissortail Hotel,” said Frank. “We're incorporating new tablet technology and we're making it eco-sustainable as well." 

Judges, like Thunder Head Coach Mark Daigneault, said these students should feel empowered.

"We hope they understand how special they are, how unique they are, how capable they are, how much potential they have,” said Daigneault.

These participants, from high school juniors to college students, are part of the second cohort of Thunder Fellows.

The program encourages black students in Tulsa to go after careers in sports, entertainment and technology.

Thunder Fellows Executive Director, Cedric Ikpo, said regardless of who takes home awards for the pitches, it is a win-win for the community.

"We pushed them to understand college and higher ed and post-secondary success,” said Ikpo. “We talked to them about financial literacy and mental wellness. So, it's really a holistic approach to the program that we do." 

Mike Johnson with Creative Artists Agency founded the program two years ago with Thunder General Manager, Sam Presti. Johnson said Tulsa is the perfect place for the program.

"When there's history, and you want to use that history as a catalyst to get the young people excited and doing new things," said Johnson.

Students in this last session have earned an impressive $630,000 in scholarships from different universities.

Applications open in August for the next session, which starts in October. To learn more, CLICK HERE: