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Head Speaks with OBU Students About Black Wall Street During Feb. 24 Presentation

February 27, 2020

Andre Head, president of The Coltrane Group, spoke to OBU students and faculty Feb. 24. The lecture was a special event as part of the University’s schedule for black history month. The message was titled, “Black Wall Street and Black Towns: Economic Development in Black Communities.” The event took place in the Tulsa Royalties Auditorium in Bailey Business Center on OBU’s campus in Shawnee.

Head discussed black history in Oklahoma and the importance of remembering history.

“We all should remember and talk about history,” he said. “Because no matter if it is nice or ugly, we must remember it and talk about it.”

Head also shared about historical black towns in Oklahoma. He shared about how there were once 150 black towns in Oklahoma, more than anywhere else in the United States. He then talked about the remaining towns in Oklahoma, which now only total 13, also still higher than the national average.

Dr. Daryl Green, Dickinson Chair of Business and associate professor of business, also discussed a new scholarship for African-American students offered by the Paul Dickinson College of Business.

The Annette Elias-Lucy Andrews Scholarship was founded in 2019 to reward young, bright African-American students who have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to excellence in business. This scholarship is sponsored by Green and his wife, Estraletta Green, in honor of their mothers, Annette Elias and Lucy Andrews. These women were strong matriarchs of their families, faithful Christians and empowered entrepreneurs.