Sisters A’Toni and Anecia Fowlkes are soft-spoken when asked about their work.
“It was out of my comfort zone,” A’Toni Fowlkes, who normally draws with charcoal, said of her painting on the side of a bright red phone booth poking out next to Apache Street in north Tulsa.
“I was hesitant, but I’m glad I did it,” she said.
Her painting, showing a mixture of neighborhood joy and historic businesses that were eventually destroyed in the 1921 Race Massacre, contains the words “echoes of strength and heritage” at the top.
Meanwhile, Anecia Fowlkes’ painting of joyful children, located inside the booth, reflects her idea of the neighborhood she grew up in coming together.
“[It’s] my visual representation of community and resilience,” she said.
The phone booth, located next to Stutts House Of Barbecue, is the first project of what the north Tulsa Economic Development Initiative (NTEDi) hopes to be many in the historically Black neighborhoods north of downtown.
“This, to me, should be seen as a catalyst to do that,” said NTEDi Director Dr. Lana Turner‑Addison.
NTEDi, a non-profit, was formed in 2007 by community advocates and the support of then-Mayor Kathy Taylor. Its stated purpose is to advocate for and fund projects to revitalize businesses north of the downtown area.
Turner-Addison said many projects focused on Tulsa’s northern neighborhoods are often targeted at the historic Greenwood District.
“North of Apache is often neglected when we’re talking about really investing in art and dollars,” she said. “It just stops right here.”
Turner-Addison said the corridor where the phone booth is located had once been packed with businesses that eventually folded due to what she characterized as “targeted disinvestment.”
Many art initiatives in Tulsa have been aimed at the downtown area with the support of public and community funds.
Anecia Fowlkes hopes her beloved neighborhood can see the same kind of investment and inspires more local artists to revitalize the area.
“There’s a lot of creative minds in north Tulsa,” she said.
