AI Investigation of 1921 Tulsa Massacre: Michelle Burdex (Greenwood Cultural Center)

Speaker: Michelle Burdex (Greenwood Cultural Center)

Title: Legacy Stewardship: A Greenwood Historian & Storyteller’s Account of Black Wall Street, the Tulsa Race Massacre, and the Path to Healing

As an informal, organization-based historian and storyteller at the Greenwood Cultural Center, and as a member of the City of Tulsa’s 1921 Mass Graves Investigation Historical Narrative Committee, a subcommittee of the Mass Graves Investigation Oversight Committee, Michelle will present a ground-level account of Black Wall Street: its rise, the devastation of the Tulsa Race Massacre, and the long arc of community healing and recovery. Anchored in survivor testimony, archival practice, and years of community stewardship, this presentation examines how narrative stewardship, stakeholder engagement, and institutional accountability preserve memory, support healing, and translate history into civic responsibility, and examines the personal impact as a member of the Black community and lifelong resident of Tulsa. Attendees will leave with a clear, dignified framework for honoring the past and sustaining intergenerational memory.

Michelle Burdex is a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has served as the Program Coordinator for the Greenwood Cultural Center (GCC) for 29 years. She has implemented and managed several award-winning programs, including the Summer Arts Program, GCC’s Performing Arts Program, and the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom Schools Summer and After-School Program. In 2024, Michelle launched the 1619 Project: Summer Edition program in collaboration with Mizzen Education. Michelle is also a committed storyteller and tour guide, having led tours for thousands of students, educators, and tourists from around the world, including U.S. President Joe Biden, as a part of the Greenwood Cultural Center’s 100-year commemoration of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. 

Michelle has a unique ability to educate people about the tragic history of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and the triumphant history of Black Wall Street through storytelling. Michelle is a member of the Tulsa Mass Graves Historical Narrative Committee and the American Folklore Society. She serves as a Board Member for A New Way Foundation. She is also a founding member and President of the Black Wall Street Historical Society, and a founding member of the Deep Greenwood Foundation. 

In 2020, Michelle was selected to be a member of the Oklahoma Arts Council’s Leadership Arts Program and Leadership Tulsa’s Thrive Tulsa Leadership Program. She is a former Bloomberg Tech Fellow as a part of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Digital Accelerator Program.

In 2022, Michelle received the Archie Green Public Folklore Advocacy Award from the American Folklore Society. The award is presented to individuals who have made significant contributions through public-oriented projects, programs, and innovative activities that have made a positive impact on folk traditions and their communities in the United States. In 2024, she was named a WESTAF Leader of Color. WESTAF is an initiative designed to address the need for diversity and inclusion within the arts and culture field, particularly in leadership roles. In 2025, Michelle received the Black Excellence Award for community service. Michelle is currently a member of the African American Leadership Academy for 2025-2026. She is also Vice President of the recently relaunched NAACP Tulsa, Branch #6143. 

Above all, Michelle is a proud wife, mother, and grandmother.

Contact: Corey Toler-Franklin ct3219@columbia.edu

Full series of talks at https://www.coreytoler.com/TulsaSpeakers/AITulsaSpeakers/AIInvestigationTulsaMassacre.html