Hundreds of Black gun owners from around the country are planning to descend upon Tulsa, Oklahoma in the coming months to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Groups ranging from the New Black Panther organization to the Elmer Geronimo Pratt Gun Club are working together to promote responsible gun ownership, advocate for civil rights and help communities search for missing Black residents. Their joint efforts will culminate with the Black Empowerment Convention.
"These types of things can never happen again. We cannot allow our people to just be massacred, to be slaughtered. So a lot of people will just see the weapons, but if you go on our website, you will see there is more to us than just firearms," Nick Bezzel of the Elmer Geronimo Pratt Gun Club told KCBY.
"I think Tulsa can expect to see a large collective of Black people from around the country coming to show their support, coming to let them know they are not alone in their fight."
While groups are working hard to put together an organized event, city officials have not cosigned the event. According to Bezzel, the city of Tulsa has not issued a permit for the march yet.
“You're basically saying you don’t want to issue us permits," Bezzel told KJRH.
However, Mayor G. T. Bynum has pushed back against Bezzel's claims. Bynum has stated that the permit was filed in a name different than his organization's. Moreover, the mayor states the streets Bezzel outlines in the march's plan have already been allocated.
The march is set for May 29 at 4 p.m.
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