By Paige Orr, Fox23 News
TULSA, Okla. — A century-old stone monument in Tulsa’s oldest park is at the center of a growing controversy as city residents and researchers weigh whether a memorial featuring names of known Ku Klux Klan members belongs in a public space.
The Tulsa Association of Pioneers monument has sat in Owen Park since the 1950s, but it has recently gained renewed attention online.
The stone was originally organized in September 1921—just months after the Tulsa Race Massacre—to honor the city’s early settlers and founding families.
However, the list of names etched into the rock includes W. Tate Brady and Willard McCullough, both of whom have been identified by historians as members of the KKK.
Fraser Kastner, a freelance journalist and historian who has studied the era extensively, said the monument’s meaning has shifted significantly since it was first erected as a tribute for a local social club.
“When this was built, it was probably meant to be a celebration, pretty uncomplicated, of this social club and all the people in it,” said Kastner. “Now, I think it serves as a reminder of the contradictions and the complexities and the beauty and the horror of our shared history.”
The debate has caught the attention of the Kitty Gang Family Foundation, a local group that has publicly called for the monument’s removal.
While no normal fundraising has begun, the foundation has expressed a willingness to raise the estimated $10,000 needed to relocate the stone so that the cost doesn’t fall on the city or taxpayers.
Despite the online conversation and the offer of private funding, city officials said there is currently no formal review process underway to move the statue.
District 4 Councilor Laura Bellis noted that because the monument is located within a City park, any decision regarding its future falls under the jurisdiction of the Tulsa Parks Board and the Parks Department.
Bellis said the department has expressed a need for a more comprehensive approach to such issues rather than addressing them on a case-by-case basis.
“I’ve had the Parks Department voice to me if we’re deciding based on names what should go where or what should be called what, then we would need a broader policy because there are names across so many buildings and parks across our whole city with rich histories that would be worth looking into.”
The conversation around the Owen Park monument follows years of similar efforts in Tulsa to distance public landmarks from figures like Tate Brady, including the renaming of the city’s arts district and various streets.
Dr. Brian Hosmer, a retired historian and former head of the history department at Oklahoma State University, believes the controversy highlights a fundamental question about the purpose of shared community spaces.
“If we truly think that public spaces are for everybody, then we need to consider seriously the impact of monuments or statements or signs or practices that exclude people systematically.”
For now, the monument remains in place.
City leaders said they are continuing to evaluate how to handle historically controversial names as part of Tulsa’s ongoing reconciliation efforts.
Bellis encouraged residents with concerns about public art or park naming policies to reach out to the Parks Board directly to participate in the civic process.
