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ABOUT ME

I have dedicated nearly three decades to coordinating summer and afterschool programming, and sharing the history of the historic Greenwood District through my work at Greenwood Cultural Center. I have given guided tours, virtual presentations, and interviews to thousands of people from around the world. 

Certifications

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Qualifications

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Black Wall Street was a thriving and prosperous community filled with businesses and residencies owned by Black individuals. The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre devastated the community, burning it to the ground and killing hundreds of residents. Despite that horrific event, Black Tulsans rebuilt Black Wall Street.  As a storyteller, I aim to share this important and often overlooked history with others. I am dedicated to telling stories that educate, inspire and honor our ancestors.

As a professional storyteller, I am passionate about sharing stories that explore the complexities of the human experience.  

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Most importantly, I am a wife, married to my high school sweetheart, Brock.  I also have three beautiful children; Rebecca, Curtis and Sam, and five grandchildren; CJ, Cole, Camdyn, JourDyn and Jaxon. 

Recipient on the Archie Green Public Folklore Advocacy Award from the American Folklore Society, October 2022

"I want to tell the history that was told to us by the people who lived it."
- Michelle Burdex

Decolonized methods of telling history aim to challenge traditional narratives that often center on colonial perspectives and prioritize the voices and experiences of marginalized communities, who have been historically excluded or misrepresented. By embracing decolonized methods of telling history, scholars, educators, and communities can work together to create more inclusive, equitable, and empowering narratives that honor the diversity and complexity of human experiences. These approaches have the potential to challenge dominant power structures, foster healing and reconciliation, and contribute to a more just and equitable society.

Here are some decolonized methods of telling history, specifically of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and Black Wall Street:

  1. Centering Our Perspectives: Decolonized history seeks to prioritize Black perspectives, knowledge, and experiences. This involves engaging with oral traditions, languages, and storytelling methods, as well as collaborating directly with our communities to co-create narratives.

  2. Counter-Narratives: Decolonized history challenges dominant narratives of conquest, colonization, and oppression by highlighting the resistance, resilience, and agency of marginalized groups. This involves uncovering hidden or silenced histories, amplifying voices that have been marginalized, and presenting a more complex and nuanced understanding of historical events and processes.

  3. Intersectional Analysis: Decolonized history recognizes the interconnectedness of systems of power and oppression, including colonialism, racism, sexism, capitalism, and heteropatriarchy. It employs an intersectional analysis that examines how these systems intersect and shape people's experiences and identities, allowing for a more holistic understanding of history.

  4. Ethical Storytelling: Decolonized history prioritizes ethical storytelling practices that prioritize consent, respect, and accountability. This includes obtaining informed consent from research participants, acknowledging the limitations of historical sources, and critically examining the researcher's positionality and biases.

  5. Decolonizing Research Methods: Decolonized history challenges Eurocentric research methodologies and embraces diverse ways of knowing and researching the past. This may involve incorporating cultural research methodologies, oral history interviews, archival research from non-traditional sources, and participatory research approaches.

  6. Public Engagement and Education: Decolonized history aims to make historical knowledge accessible and relevant to broader audiences, including students, educators, policymakers, and the general public. This may involve developing educational materials, public exhibitions, community workshops, and digital storytelling projects that center decolonized perspectives.

  7. Restorative Justice: Decolonized history recognizes the ongoing impacts of historical injustices and seeks to address these through restorative justice practices. This may involve initiatives such as truth and reconciliation commissions, reparations for historical wrongs, land acknowledgments, and efforts to preserve and revitalize languages and cultures.

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If you are profiting from telling the history of the Black community without investing in the Black community, you are engaging in cultural appropriation and exploitation. By actively reinvesting in the Black community, those profiting from telling its history can help address historical injustices, empower marginalized voices, and contribute to building a more equitable and inclusive society.  It's important to recognize that telling the history of the Black community carries a responsibility to ensure that the community itself benefits from the dissemination of its history. This may involve:

  1. Supporting Black-owned businesses: Investing in Black-owned businesses and enterprises that contribute to the economic empowerment of the Black community, ideally in the Greenwood District.

  2. Funding educational programs: Supporting educational initiatives, scholarships, and programs that promote the study of Black history and culture and empower Black youth (such as Greenwood Cultural Center's afterschool and summer programs.

  3. Partnering and Collaborating: Collaborating with community organizations and initiatives to amplify their voices, support their work, and address systemic issues affecting the Black community.

  4. Compensating Black creators: Ensuring that Black historians, artists, writers, and other creators are fairly compensated for their contributions to the telling of Black history.

  5. Providing resources and opportunities for Black scholars, educators, and cultural practitioners to share their expertise and perspectives and providing resources (money) to facilitate their work.

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