In 2024, Lifeline Children and Family Services took a group of over 70 youth, caregivers, and staff to Greenwood, Oklahoma, once home to the thriving Black community known as Black Wall Street, for our annual Cultural Excursion.
We call these trips “Cultural Excursions” because they’re more than just travel. They’re a chance for our youth, many of whom come from different cultural and racial backgrounds, to experience American history up close and unpack what it means for them today. This year’s trip to Black Wall Street was deeply trauma-informed, and it quickly became one of our most powerful experiences yet.
At the Greenwood Cultural Center and the Greenwood Rising Museum, we walked through the stories of incredible Black entrepreneurs, families, and leaders who built one of the most successful Black communities in the early 1900s. We learned about the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, how it destroyed so much, and how that trauma still lives on today.
For many of our young people, this was their first time hearing these stories. It was heavy. It was shocking. But it was also necessary.
We made space to feel, reflect, and talk. There were moments of silence, moments of connection, and moments when you could see understanding taking root. As an organization that supports children and families impacted by trauma, it’s our job to create opportunities for healing, and sometimes healing starts with telling the truth.
We’re so proud of every single person who came on this journey with us. It took courage to show up with open hearts and minds.
In July 2025, we’re heading to Memphis for our next Cultural Excursion, where we’ll visit the National Civil Rights Museum and dive deeper into stories of justice, resistance, and resilience. We hope to keep learning, growing, and walking alongside our youth as they explore their place in history, and their power to shape the future.
