Thursday 11 June 2020 14:34, UK
Houston Rockets All-Star guard Russell Westbrook is set to produce a documentary series about the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, according to reports.
Westbrook, who led a Black Lives Matter protest against racial injustice in Compton, California last Sunday, will be the executive producer for the series, which is titled 'Terror In Tulsa: The Rise And Fall Of Black Wall Street', Variety reported on Tuesday.
The Tulsa Race Massacre is considered one of the USA's worst incidents of racial violence. A white mob attacked the predominantly black Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, looting and burning homes and businesses. The reported death total was 36, though a 2001 Oklahoma commission said it is likely that 100-300 people were killed.
Westbrook is teaming up with documentary filmmaker Stanley Nelson and producer Blackfin (Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez) for the series.
'Terror In Tulsa' is described as both an exploration of America's past, and also an "urgent, sobering look at the social, economic and political lines that continue to divide the country," according to the Variety report. It will inter-weave both past and present-day narratives in order to investigate the tragic event and its continuing impact.
Westbrook, who played 11 years with the Oklahoma City Thunder before being traded to the Rockets in July 2019, said in a tweet that living "in Oklahoma opened my eyes to the rich and sordid history of the state".
"When I learned about the heartbreaking events that happened in Tulsa nearly 100 years ago, I knew this was a story I wanted to tell," Westbrook wrote.
"It's upsetting that the atrocities that transpired then, are still so relevant today. It's important we uncover the buried stories of African Americans in this country. We must amplify them now more than ever if we want to create change moving forward."
