Business for Good’s Ed Mitzen travels to Tulsa, OK with $1 million donation for Tulsa Race Massacre survivors

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$1 million donation to benefit the three known, living survivors of the massacre

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Business for Good’s philanthropy scope knows no bounds, with its latest efforts focused on the Tulsa Race Massacre’s survivors. The massacre, which occurred in 1921, targeted the affluent African American community known as the Greenwood District. The Tulsa Historical Society states the massacre was one of the most significant events in Tulsa’s history.

On Wednesday, May 18, Business for Good’s Ed Mitzen and the team traveled to Tulsa Oklahoma to present the three known, remaining survivors with a $1 million check: 101-year-old Hughes Van Ellis (101 years old), Viola Fletcher (107 years old) and Lessie Benningfield Randle (107 years old.) Oklahoma State Legislator Regina Goodwin has been assisting BFG in coordinating the visit. Mitzen says the donation from BFG acknowledges the Tulsa Race Massacre survivors’ plight and hopefully encourages others to acknowledge the racial injustice that occurred in 1921.

“By uplifting the surviving victims, we carry the memory of those who were affected,” said BFG co-founder Ed Mitzen. “At the end of the day, we can’t write a check and undo what was done to these people or erase 100 years of struggle. All we’re trying to do is make their lives a little bit easier.”

The $1 million was donated to Tulsa S.T.E.P.S., a non-profit organization that was set up to help the surviving families. During their time in Tulsa, Mitzen and the BFG team met with the survivors’ families and took a tour of the Greenwood area, including the Ellis Walker Woods Memorial, the former site of Booker T. Washington High School, and the 1921 triage site for the Red Cross and Tulsa Race Massacre victims. CNN covered the donation presentation in Tulsa; click here for the link.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

About Business for Good™

With values rooted in equity, access, opportunity, and prosperity, Business for Good has advanced the model of traditional venture philanthropy to Do Good and Give Back to communities in the Greater Capital Region of Albany. Formed in 2020, BFG seeks to give back to move forward and is rooted in the core principle of “for good, not gain.” Its efforts were recognized on a national level with a 2022 Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas Honorable Mention, which recognizes pioneering teams that are playing an important role in the betterment of the world through intentional philanthropy. Comprised of a mission-focused team, Business for Good™ believes no challenge is insurmountable through hard and thoughtful work. With a goal to provide businesses and organizations with sustained support, BFG invests in people for the long term and in every way. Business for Good: building better businesses, stronger communities, and a more equitable world. To learn more, visit www.bfg.org

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