Three Tulsa City Council members from vastly different walks of life, belief systems, educational, cultural, and racial backgrounds grapple with the historic decision of whether to grant reparations to survivors and descendants of the 1921 Race Massacre.
This documentary delves into the behind-the-scenes dynamics of the Tulsa City Council as they grapple with the explosive issue of reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Against the backdrop of one of America’s most conservative states, three councilors from contrasting racial, political, cultural, and religious backgrounds navigate heated debates, community tensions, and their own inner conflicts. Their decisions could set a national precedent for reparative justice—or deepen divisions within an already fractured city.
Our story begins in 2020, when the council quietly drafts a Resolution of Public Apology, the first formal acknowledgment of the massacre. This pivotal step sets the stage for Tulsa’s creation of the Beyond Apology Commission in October 2024, tasked with developing reparative recommendations for outgoing Mayor G.T. Bynum.
Alongside these developments, the swearing-in of Monroe Nichols as Tulsa’s first African American mayor on December 2, 2024, signals a transformative moment. As fault lines emerge within the council and community, the stakes become clear: Tulsa’s reckoning isn’t just about the past—it’s about shaping the future. Tulsa Speaks captures the struggle for justice, revealing the fragility, resilience, and humanity of a city confronting its legacy of racial violence and systemic inequity.
Dr. Kristal Brent Zook – Writer/Producer/Co-Director
Dr. Kristal Brent Zook is an award-winning journalist (Henry Luce Award, NABJ) and the author of four critically acclaimed scholarly books. She has written about race, culture, women, and social justice for more than 25 years. Her latest book, The Girl in the Yellow Poncho, was chosen as a favorite by Vanity Fair, BET, PEOPLE, Ms., and The Root, and received praise in The New York Times Book Review and Kirkus. A former contributor to the Washington Post and ESSENCE, Dr. Zook’s writings have appeared in dozens of outlets including The New Yorker, The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, TIME, LIFE, and The Guardian. She is currently writing a book about the Tulsa, OK city council’s move toward reparations (Rutgers University Press, 2026). Another forthcoming book is Black Women’s Lives: Stories of Power and Pain 20 Years Later (Rutgers, 2026). Dr. Zook is a Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellow (History of Consciousness, UC Santa Cruz, 1991) and a tenured professor of journalism at Hofstra University. She is an active supporter of independent journalism, women, and marginalized voices, serving on the Board of Directors for the Alicia Patterson Foundation for 15 + years. She is based in Miami and New York.
Sekiya Dorsett – Co-Director
Sekiya Dorsett’s thought-provoking films have won her much praise, including The Revival: Women and the Word, which premiered in 2017 and was quickly acquired by Women Make Movies. Dorsett also directed a four-episode documentary series for NBC News titled Stonewall Revolution which is currently on Peacock– an achievement that earned her both a GLAAD Media Award and NLGJA’s Excellence in Digital Journalism accolade. In 2022, Barnard College named her their inaugural Artemis Rising Foundation Fellow for excellence in non-fiction storytelling. She is a FireLight Media Fellow for 2024-2026. Her films have been screened at the Tribeca Film Festival, the Urbanworld Film Festival, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Outfest Film Festival. IG @sekiyadorsett
Bill Jennings – Consulting Editor
Consulting Editor: Bill Jennings’ Harlem Aria was an official selection at several international film festivals and was released in 2011 by Magnolia Pictures. Bill is completing post-production on Spell (2020), a feature-length, experimental-narrative film. Recent projects include an adaptation of the Victor Pelevin novel Buddha’s Little Finger (2014) directed by Tony Pemberton. He also produced the award-winning experimental documentary film Brooklyn Roses (2018) directed by Christine Noschese. Bill was director of the Acclaimed Documenting Diversity Program funded by the Rosenthal Charitable Trust, which produced more than 100 student directed documentary shorts and is director of Youth Film Day co-sponsored by the Gold Coast Film Festival. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem and is a tenured Professor and Chair of the Department of Radio, Television at Hofstra University. As a member of the DGA, he worked as an Assistant Director on more than 50 major studio films and television series such as Clean Slate, Airheads, Beverly Hills Cop III, Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, New Jack City, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, Storyville, Boomerang, Saturday Night Live, The Cosby Mysteries, Central Park West, New York Undercover, Prince Street and Dellaventura.
Nelson George – Producer
Producer: Nelson George is an American author, columnist, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker who has specialized in documenting black culture in North America for over forty years. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award. George has authored 17 non-fiction books, including The Michael Jackson Story, Blackface: Reflections on African-Americans and the Movies, Elevating the Game: Black Men and Basketball, Hip Hop America and The Hippest Trip in America: The History of Soul Train, and The Nelson George Mixtape Volume 1 and 2. His film and television projects as producer and/or director include: A Ballerina’s Tale, Top Five starring and directed by Chris Rock, Finding the Funk, Brooklyn Boheme, Good Hair, The N-Word, Everyday People, and Strictly Business. He directed a television movie in Vancouver for Lifetime called The Real MVP, served as a producer/writer on the Netflix series The Get Down and consulting producer on Cinemax’s Tales from the Tour Bus. He is executive producer of the five-part Hulu documentary series Dear Mama: The Life and Times of Afeni and Tupac Shakur and has directed recent documentaries on baseball great Willie Mays for HBO and on Michael Jackson’s landmark album ‘Thriller40.’
Shelby Stone – Producer
Producer: Shelby Stone is a four-time EMMY award winner and the recipient of 60 + industry awards and nominations including Golden Globes, Screen Actors Guild, CLIO, Humanitas George F. Peabody, AFI, NAACP Image Awards, Women’s Image Awards, Black Filmmakers Award, Bronze Lens Festival Women’s Superstar Award. Her portfolio includes Lena Waithe’s The Chi (Showtime), currently breaking viewership records in its sixth season, as well as the Emmy award-winning Bessie, Lackawanna Blues and Life Support for HBO Films. She is currently collaborating with Lori McCreary and Morgan Freeman’s Revelations Entertainment and producing a Sly Stone documentary by Oscar winner Questlove (Summer of Soul). She has projects in development with Joe Wilson (Equalizer), actress/producer Lorraine Toussaint (Equalizer, Orange is the New Black) and actress/producer Lesley Ann Brandt (Lucifer) to name a few. A highly experienced executive, Shelby has successfully run production companies for Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, and Common. She is co-chair of the PGA’s One Guild diversity initiative and inaugural co-chair of the Producers of Color Working Group. Deeply devoted to promoting diversity and inclusion behind the camera, Shelby has participated in numerous labs, workshops, and panels for Film Independent, Outfest, Women in Film, Infinity Festival, UCLA, and Women in Media.
