John Hope Franklin Remembered as Great Tulsan
By Kathy Taylor
Tulsa Mayor
MEMORABLE DAY: I was proud to take part in the groundbreaking this past November on the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park that is located in our historic Greenwood District. Dr. Franklin is next to me and at the left is Julius Pegues, the Chairman of the Board of Directors for the park, which is scheduled to be completed in late summer and will be a great tribute to Dr. Franklin’s life and work.
Photo by SHERYL LOVELADY
“I want to be out there on the firing line, helping, directing or doing something to try to make this a better world, a better place to live.”
– Dr. John Hope Franklin
January 2, 1915-March 25, 2009
Dr. John Hope Franklin most certainly left this world a better place.
The man who would become the nation’s most noted scholar on the African American experience was a native Oklahoman and graduated as valedictorian of his senior class at Booker T. Washington High School. State law would not allow Dr. Franklin to attend the University of Oklahoma because of his race, so Franklin traveled to Tennessee to attend Fisk University in Nashville. He later earned masters and doctoral degrees from Harvard University. During his lifetime, Franklin received the Presidential Medal of Honor, published 18 books and received more than 130 honorary degrees.
I am very pleased to be a part of honoring Dr. Franklin here in Tulsa. We broke ground this past November on the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park that is located in our historic Greenwood District. The park is scheduled to be completed in late summer and will be a great tribute to Dr. Franklin’s life and work.
He was a man full of hope and his vision for the future was unclouded by the darkness he experienced in his past. He envisioned a world that embraced civility and valued respect for everyone, regardless of race or culture.
At many times in his life he found himself on that “firing line” of criticism. But then, true leaders are often called to be on the firing line.
If they fight for change. If they push for reform. If they stand for their beliefs. They will certainly find themselves on the firing line of criticism and scrutiny.
That is as it should be.
We have a right in America to openly question our leaders and hold them up to the most thorough examination. If their ideas and decisions endure that “firing line,” a positive impact will certainly follow. Dr. Franklin stood on the firing line many times in his life and as a result of his hard work and perseverance, he made this world a better place.
A proud Tulsan, Dr. Franklin often referred to me as his mayor. And he taught this mayor to keep focusing on finding positive solutions for the future, one step at a time. His life reinforced just how much could be accomplished by taking the simple first step of treating each other with civility and respect.
We will miss him greatly.
Updated 04-20-2009
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