Efforts to Rename Brady Arts District

[Conan71]

okay, I want to know where my sixer is

Damn it! You got me! Name your flavor.

If anyone knows Lee Roy Chapman or the editor of This Land, please let them know they are more than welcome to come on here and back up Chapman's assertions with documented evidence.  Nothing he points to in the story in his numbered bibliography makes a clear distinction.  I have no vested interest in the issue other than hating to see the stakeholders in this area taken to task after they have worked so hard for 30 years to change the image and create a new and vibrant identity for the district.  Now they have someone starting a movement based on an over-active imagination.  It's been said earlier in this thread that you would have to re-name many city streets, neighborhoods, and buildings if you wanted to blot out Tulsa's sad racial past as many other prominent founders were members of the same societies back in the day. 

I might also note what is not acceptable to society today was the norm generations ago.

[cannon_fodder]

Lee Roy:  thank you for posting that information.

I'm in the camp that is putting the KKK/horrible racist story for Mr. Brady in the "supported rumor/probably true" category.  But given the circumstances of the time, why wouldn't it be common knowledge who was and who was not associated with the Klan?  In many areas it was a registered social group, that then had "other" functions that were kept on the down-low.  If Mr. Brady was a prominent member and/or an outspoken racist - surely he wouldn't need to bother keeping it secret.

Hence, my skepticism.  While you reference a lot of support, it is all rumor at the heart of it.  Perhaps my understanding remains flawed.

My final point - Christopher Columbus had no qualms about subjugated, abducting, or even killing native peoples. George Washington was a slave owner who believed "Africans" had a naturally lower capacity for intelligence - justifying their servitude and the white man's "stewardship" of them.  Andrew Jackson would be considered a genocidal war criminal if his acts took place in Europe between 1938-1945 or in the 1990's.   But they get a day, a capital city, and their face on the most popular currency.  

Whitewashing history is an effort in futility.  I dare say many, if not most historical figures were horrible people by modern standards if you stop and look.  They were men of their times, and thankfully times have changed.  But in the instance of Mr. Brady, he largely developed the area that bears his name.  I don't want to rename every town square, district, building, and city because it turns out the namesake had a fatal flaw under the modern lens.

Stick up a plaque somewhere stating the facts, but I don't think anyone serious thinks having the name "Washington" on our capital is an endorsement of slavery, not is having "Brady" on the district an endorsement of the Klan.

[Conan71]

Hello all.
I'll be happy to meet anyone who disputes the facts contained within the Brady article. I can show you the documentation. The NCLB published a report. The report did not contain Brady's name. The elusive papers of L.A. Brown, the NCLB investigator who wrote the report, contain the names of Tate Brady and Ed Lucas (TPD chief). All 17 union members identified Brady. That is origin of the "repeatedly" reference. Princeton couldn't find their copies of his papers so we had to get them from the New York State Archives, you can contact them for copies. The Nightmare of Dreamland is based on facts and accurate. Recently, the article  received support from North Tulsa Historical Society, University of Tulsa History Professor Brian Hosmer. And the Oklahoma Society of Professional Journalism awarded the article 2nd place in 2012 for feature magazine writing.
I'm still waiting for the Oklahoma Historical Society to amend their biography on Tate Brady.  
The Brady story and the movement behind the name change just happens to be "trending" right now. I've been a history recovery specialist for 15 years. In 1998 I helped establish and raise the seed money for the Woody Guthrie Coalition, the first Okemah based movement to restore Woody's history to his hometown. That effort resulted in the annual festival. I work with the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture, recovering artifacts for a permant exhibit on Greenwood. I was the guy that got the Leon Russell Archive into the OkPOP Museum. In 2009 I recovered Bob Wills tour bus from a cotton patch out in West Texas. It just  arrived here in Tulsa today.
 
Again, open invite.
leeroychapman@yahoo.com
Dig it.

Okay, that never happens- you apparently were writing this as I was writing my latest add to this thread inviting you or the editors to clarify or at least cite sources which can be corroborated to your story.  Welcome aboard and thank you for stopping by.  

Assuming Brown's notes exist as you say, Brown's personal notes would say Brady was in on the tarring and feathering of the Wobblies.  I'm curious, have you ever been able to establish why Brady's name was omitted from the official report, but not the identity of the police chief?  I don't ask that to joust with you but to try and establish why he was selectively naming people in the report with the exception of one prominent Tulsan.

I did not read anywhere in the report that the Wobblies were black, just a union which might threaten production in the oil patch, is that correct?  This incident still does not create a link to the race riots of 1921 unless it's attempting to establish that Tate Brady was once a prominent member of certain societies which may have been at the center of the events in the race riots.

While I appreciate your work, I also appreciate the hard work and sweat equity people like Peter Mayo, David Sharp, and many others have put into the area and don't see the need to taint that by ginning up racial tension from days gone by.  It's duly noted that dwellings and buildings destroyed in the riot have been memorialized with sidewalk monuments throughout the area.  In my opinion, I believe we have properly recognized the terrible past of this area through that and many other means including the John Hope Franklin reconciliation park.

[tulsascoot]

I appreciate the offer to personally speak with the author of an article about its sources. However, I don't feel I should have to do that as they should be cited within the article or at the end of it for it to maintain credibility.

But maybe I should just stop here. Let the names stay, it's not worth it, and there's no reason to change them now just because of the society in which the founders lived. I don't think there's any movement to change the name of the car that Bow and Luke Duke drove; should there be?

[rdj]

While I appreciate your work, I also appreciate the hard work and sweat equity people like Peter Mayo, David Sharp, and many others have put into the area and don't see the need to taint that by ginning up racial tension from days gone by.  It's duly noted that dwellings and buildings destroyed in the riot have been memorialized with sidewalk monuments throughout the area.  In my opinion, I believe we have properly recognized the terrible past of this area through that and many other means including the John Hope Franklin reconciliation park.

Tulsa Now needs a "thanks" or "like" button mod...

Until then,

[AquaMan]

As in most of these threads, the first two pages encompassed the best and most cogent thinking. The rest seemed to be re-active, defensive, contrived and trivial. I especially dislike when folks hang out their education and "accomplishments" for all to see as confirmation that they are in fact correct.

This is a stupid idea to change an area's identification that was organic in nature. Regardless of their success, designed names suck (look at Sand Springs effort to district-ize their city). Just relax and let this sensationalizing effort by self serving interests deflate.

[MichaelMason]

Link to an image from the LA Brown report here:

http://thislandpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/labrown.jpg

If you can't see it, the incriminating passage reads: "For instance, all made the same statement with emphasis that Tate Brady put on the tar and feathers 'in the name of the women and children of Belgium.'"

[AngieB]

This whole thing is nothing but a witch hunt. The pro-name change contingent is attempting to hold this district hostage with claims to online restaurant review sites and to the BBB of broken glass found in drinks, food poisoning, etc. on Brady district restaurants. It's not right. Before Lee Roy Chapman started this whole campaign, very few Tulsans had any clue who Tate Brady was or the claims made against him. It's the name of a street. The name of a theater. The district was not named that to honor Tate Brady — like AquaMan stated, it came to be in an organic fashion.

The more you pick at a wound, the longer it takes to heal. Leave it alone.

[RecycleMichael]

Where do you see the stories about bad reviews of the restaurants? Where are the stories about BBB reviews? I have not heard any of that? I spend a lot of time in the area and visit most of the establishments and I only hear positive things about the bars and restaurants.

I am still undecided. I am a member of the Brady Merchants Association and respect all the work that has been done to make the area a destination. But I am also completely embarrassed to know the area in some way honors a creepy guy. I do believe the evidence shows him to be a force for an evil part of our history.

My question is this. Is there anything that we could find out about him or any other historical figure that would warrant changing the name? I think the answer to many of the people in this discussion is no. They either think it happened too long ago to do anything about it or are defensive that the current occupants have spent so much time in a branding effort.

To me, neither of those are valid enough reasons to not change the name. This is a teachable moment of embracing our past while doing something about it.

For now, I lean toward changing the name of the street. That shouldn't affect the name of the district because of the existence of the Brady Theater. The Blue Dome district is named for a single building. This would be the same.

[davideinstein]

For now, I lean toward changing the name of the street. That shouldn't affect the name of the district because of the existence of the Brady Theater. The Blue Dome district is named for a single building. This would be the same.

Why? Just leave it the same. That would be two street name changes that were uncalled for in the area. All it does is cause confusion.

[AngieB]

Where do you see the stories about bad reviews of the restaurants? Where are the stories about BBB reviews? I have not heard any of that? I spend a lot of time in the area and visit most of the establishments and I only hear positive things about the bars and restaurants.

This was shared with me by a Brady District business owner.

[AquaMan]

A meaningless compromise. Saves some face for Henderson and co. but total baloney. I really laughed at his remarks in the World, something to the effect of changing the name to help effect "the one city" we have always striven for. Nonsense. Dividing people rarely brings them together. MLK Boulevard up to the tracks, then Cincinnati south of the tracks doesn't bring people together.

Where does it stop? Does anyone think that Brady was the only racist, former Klan member, evil businessman that had a street or building named after him? That he was operating in a vacuum? That our more recent notables had any less racist attitudes in the 70's when entire black neighborhoods were razed in the name of crime prevention?

Please note that current history tells us Tulsa's name comes from the slurring of the Creek homelands of Tallassi, Georgia. The Creeks having been forced to give up their lands and move here where they were exploited and treated as second class citizens at best. A pitiful time in history, yet they do not begrudge us co-opting and slurring their name. Its just a white man's word to them.

A teaching moment is where we overcome our past transgressions by noting how far off track people can become, not by hiding them.

[RecycleMichael]

You ask where does it stop. I ask when would it ever start.

Is there anything that you could learn that would cause you to change want to change the name of a street?

Any behavior?

From most of the comments I hear, the answer is no. Street names must be etched forever in stone.

[Red Arrow]

Perhaps we should rename everything named after a person.  If you dig deep enough, everyone did something that someone else won't like.  Let's rename everything after non-intrusive plants.  No Poison Ivy Avenue please. 

Want to drive a Ford automobile or truck?  No more.  Henry Ford had some bad ties in todays world.  Chevrolet, Buick....  also named after people.  Oldsmobile is gone now as is Pontiac. Anything named after Charles Lindberg?  Not allowed.  We have already discussed that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson owned slaves.  Carnegie Hall?  Rename it Tulip Blossom Hall.  And so on...

[RecycleMichael]

Each of your examples are private owned places or things. This is a public street.

We actually can do something about this.