Events

EJS 21st Anniversary Virtual Gala

EJS Virtual Annual Event 2021
Monday, September 20, 2021
6:00 p.m. Pacific

For the past 20 years, the Equal Justice Society has worked with artists to bring Black history to life through paintings, music, film, dance, and spoken word.

This year, the Equal Justice Society Virtual Annual Event on Monday, September 20, 2021, featured the premiere of “Black Wall Street: Stories of Greenwood,” directed by Kevin D. Johnson, Jr. with music by Marcus Shelby and with executive producer Eva Paterson.

The film is comprised of three short stories. The Black excellence that infuriated the unevolved white residents of Tulsa along with the massacre will be brought to life with an ensemble cast playing different characters in each of the stories.

After the film screening, we welcomed Hannibal B. Johnson as a featured guest expert on the Tulsa Race Massacre, on a panel with Kevin D. Johnson, Jr. and Marcus Shelby, moderated by Meher Dhaliwal of EJS. Hannibal provide us with a historical overview of the massacre. Marcus and Kevin discussed their respective methods of creating the film and music, as well as share their muses that inspire their creativity.

EJS is mindful that attacks on the bodies of people of color continue into the 21st century as we have witnessed and denounced attacks on our AAPI and Latinx friends and allies. We are all in this together.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS!

  • Quinn Delaney and Wayne Jordan – Visionary
  • Henry L. Hecht – Champion
  • Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein LLP – Advocate
  • Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati Foundation – Advocate
  • Guy and Jeanine Saperstein – Champion
  • Emily Scott – Partner
  • Jacqueline Sellers – Partner
  • Kelly McCreary and Pete Chatmon – Partner
  • Jim Finberg and Melanie Piech – Ally
  • California Teachers Association – Ally
  • The California Wellness Foundation – Ally
  • Neyhart, Anderson, Flynn & Grosboll – Ally
  • Leftwich Event Specialists – Ally
  • Arlene Mayerson – Ally
  • Nora Cregan – Ally
  • Maja Wessels and Charles Covington – Ally
  • Marjorie Randolph – Ally
  • Steve Zieff and Elaine Leitner – Supporter
  • Cheryl and Charles Ward – Supporter
  • Altshuler Berzon LLP – Supporter
  • Minami Tamaki LLP – Supporter
  • Kaiser Permanente – Supporter
  • Cheryl Mason – Supporter
  • John Crew – Supporter
  • San Francisco Giants – Supporter
  • Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California – Supporter
  • Arthur and Mary Jo Shartsis – Non-Profit
  • Douglas & Tony Young – Non-Profit
  • Public Advocates – Non-Profit
  • Rev. Diana McDaniel – Non-Profit
  • Asian Law Caucus – Non-Profit
  • Ron Wong/Compass Real Estate – Non-Profit
  • David Oppenheimer & Marcy Kates – Non-Profit
  • Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the SF Bay Area – Non-Profit
  • William and Arlene Kennedy – Non-Profit
  • Linda Purkiss – Sponsor
  • Karen Klein and Ben Golvin – Non-Profit
  • Gary Greenfield and Reesa Tansey – Non-Profit
  • Joan Graff – Non-Profit
  • Michael Harris – Non-Profit

THANK YOU TO OUR HOST COMMITTEE!

  • Carrie Avery
  • Susan Baronoff
  • Renel Brooks-Moon
  • Elizabeth Cabraser
  • Sara Campos
  • Charles and Paula Collins
  • Quinn Delaney and Wayne Jordan
  • Robert and Willie Demmons
  • Elaine Elinson and Rene CiriaCruz
  • Henry L. Hecht
  • Bill Hing
  • Guillermo Mayer
  • Rev. Diana McDaniel
  • Dale Minami
  • Vincent Pan
  • Drucilla Ramey and Marvin Stender
  • Barbara Rodgers
  • Professor Margaret M. Russell
  • Bill Tamayo and Debbie Lee
  • Daniel Tellalian
  • Cheryl and Charles Ward
  • Maja Wessels and Charles Covington

About the Tulsa Race Massacre and Black Wall Street

On May 31, and June 1, 1921, lawless and murderous whites in Tulsa, Oklahoma, beat, robbed, and looted the bodies, businesses, and homes of the prosperous Black folks in the Greenwood section of Tulsa, an area known as “Black Wall Street.”

From Tulsa2021.org: “Early in the twentieth century, Tulsa’s African American community, the Greenwood District crafted a nationally renowned entrepreneurial center. De jure segregation confined African American dollars within this enclave. The resultant economic detour—the diversion of black dollars away from the off-limits white commercial sector—morphed the thirty-five-square-block area into ‘Black Wall Street,’ a dynamic business hub rife with risk-takers and deal makers.

“Over time, fear and jealousy swelled within the white community. African American success, including home, business, and land ownership, precipitated increasing consternation and friction. A chance encounter between two teenagers lit the fuse that set Greenwood District alight. The alleged assault on a white girl, Sarah Page, by an African American boy, Dick Rowland, triggered unprecedented civil unrest. Propelled by sensational reporting by The Tulsa Tribune, resentment over black economic success, and a racially hostile climate in general, mob rule held sway.

“In fewer than twenty-four hours, people, property, hopes, and dreams vanished. Fires raged. Mobs prevented firefighters from extinguishing the flames. Property damage ran into the millions. Hundreds of people died. Scores lay injured. Some African Americans fled Tulsa, never to return.”