By Fox23.com News Staff
TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa leaders and community members gathered at the Rudisill Regional Library Tuesday night for an urgent town hall meeting regarding the future of the Tulsa Reconciliation Education Scholarship.
There’s a debate at the state capitol over the best way to protect the legacy of the scholarship that’s meant to help students who are descendants of Tulsa Race Massacre survivors.
While both state leaders agree the scholarship needs to be strengthened, they are pushing different pieces of legislation.
On Tuesday night, Senator Regina Goodwin called the community together to outline what she calls a “threat” to the program’s mission. State Representative Ronald Stewart was in attendance to hear those concerns firsthand.
The Tulsa Reconciliation Scholarship was created over 20 years ago to assist descendants of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. After decades of underfunding, the program has seen a surge in activity.
Over the last four years, the program distributed a quarter of a million dollars to students, including a record $106,000 just last year.
Currently, the scholarship trust sits at $2.3 million. However, two competing bills at the capitol have created a divide on how that money should be awarded with Rep. Stewart calling his measure a “safety net.”
“What I would like to do is take this particular piece of legislation and use it as another vehicle — as a back-up plan, if you will,” said Rep. Stewart (D-Tulsa). “If the language that is within the Senate Bill that our good senator, Regina Goodwin, is presenting for whatever reason is held up, do we have another option?’
“I say when you have a Plan A, why should there be a need for a Plan B,” Sen. Goodwin asked in response.
The two pieces of legislation reveal different visions for the scholarship’s future.
Sen. Goodwin’s Senate Bill 2040 mandates that direct lineal descendants be given “first priority status” removing income caps for them and expanding eligibility nationwide.
In contrast, Rep. Stewart’s House Bill 3051 bars individuals aged 21 or older from initial participation and limits the award to tuition only.
A major point of contention involves the specific language regarding how students are selected.
Sen. Goodwin emphasized that her bill uses the word “shall” to mandate that direct descendants are the first priority for funding. She argued that using the word “shall” ensures the priority is a requirement, whereas language like “may” in other proposals could be interpreted as optional, which she believes “waters down” the protection for massacre descendants.
Representative Stewart acknowledged this distinction at the meeting, stating that the current law lacks these protections and that “it should say shall and it should put you first”.
While the two leaders spoke on Zoom Monday night, Sen. Goodwin urged the community to remain focused on her plan to keep descendants as the top priority.
The divide left many attendees frustrated, with one community member asking why there are even two bills.
Rep. Stewart told the crowd he supports the measures in Sen. Goodwin’s bill, stating, “I believe in her bill. I supported it last year; I’ll support it tis year.” Rep. Stewart said he is willing to “lay over” or stop his bill if the community decides it isn’t the right path forward.
“If we don’t want the contingency claim, if what I’m talking about isn’t in mind with what we want to do, it’s done,” said Rep. Stewart.
He noted that because the bill is in his possession, he can “scrap” it rather than let it be used for harmful legislation.
A committee meeting is scheduled for later this week to further discuss the legislation.
