In the spring of 2024, National Humanities Center president and director Robert D. Newman travelled to Tulsa for a series of conversations about the city’s history and culture. The resulting documentary film offers a variety of perspectives on the dynamics that shape contemporary life in Tulsa, and speaks to larger issues for communities across the United States. Produced in creative partnership with the Tulsa-based Well-Told agency, the film features conversations with a variety of experts and community leaders.
Community activist and entrepreneur Onikah Asamoa-Caesar is the founder and CEO of Fulton Street Books & Coffee, a retail business and gathering place in the heart of Tulsa’s historic Greenwood neighborhood.
As executive director of Tulsa Educare, Cindy Decker leads one of the nation’s premier early childhood education programs which aims to break the cycle of poverty in Tulsa.
Writer and political commentator Jim Hightower has garnered a national following as a radio personality, syndicated columnist, and author speaking to the concerns of everyday Americans in much the same way as Woody Guthrie, the artist and activist who inspires him.
As Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Chuck Hoskin Jr. has not only helped improve the economic and physical well-being of his fellow Cherokees, he has also secured the largest language investment in the tribe’s history to expand Cherokee cultural preservation.
Jeff Stava is Chief Program Officer of the George Kaiser Family Foundation, Chief Operating Officer at the Tulsa Community Foundation, and Executive Director of the Gathering Place, Tulsa’s 100-acre, riverfront park which was named USA Today’s top new attraction for 2019, and one of Time Magazine’s 100 Greatest Places in the world.
Best-selling author Michael Wallis is a leading chronicler of the American West and its place in the American imaginary—with books on everything from Billy the Kid, “Pretty Boy” Floyd, and Wilma Mankiller to the legacy of America’s “Mother Road,” Route 66.
The film also features music from Cherokee singer/songwriter Agalasiga “The Chuj” Mackey who grew up outside of Tulsa in Kenwood, Oklahoma. A Cherokee language and cultural educator, Mackey’s unique blend of Cherokee lyrics and classic country and blues creates an immediately striking and original sound that has made him a popular performer across the American Midwest.
Between People and a Place: The Interviews
Full-length recordings of Robert Newman’s interviews are available in the playlist below.