Gathering Days // Big Mama Speaks

A Tulsa Race Riot Survivor’s Story

Mark your calendars! Big Mama Speaks, a one-woman play that recounts the history of “Black Wall Street” in Tulsa, OK, and explores the work of reconciliation is coming to Iliff during Gathering Days Week. As we celebrate African American History Month, we will reflect on the impact of the worst race riot in American history, which destroyed the beloved Greenwood District, renowned nationally in the early twentieth century for its preeminent Black entrepreneurs. Against all odds, Tulsa’s African-American community overcame, and Big Mama Speaks gives voice to the triumph of the human spirit.The free, public performance features accomplished actress, Vanessa Adams-Harris, a Muskogee-Creek American Indian with African-American/European ancestry and will be followed by a post-performance conversation between Vanessa and the gathered guests.

Iliff School of Theology
Shattuck Hall