TULSA, Okla — The Justice for Greenwood non-profit organization has begun a completely new program aimed to help families build and retain wealth - the Legacy Protection Program (LPP).
Damario Solomon-Simmons is the President and Chief Legal Counsel of Justice for Greenwood.
He said many black and African-American families don’t have a will or any plans in place for after a loved one passes, which could pose an issue when it comes to passing down assets and maintaining wealth.
“Legacy Protection Program provides free legal support to protect homes, land and family assets," he said. "We focus on three things: probate estate planning and nuisance property protection.”
He said there are a few requirements to enroll in the free program.
“You either have to be a survivor of the massacre, obviously we just have one, which we've done, their probates and their estate planning," he said. "Number two, the second area of eligibility is that you have completed the verification program through justice for Greenwood... Number three, you can be a member of one of the 13 surviving churches that survived the massacre and still providing services and support to the Greenwood community today.”
Below is a list of the surviving churches:
- Vernon A.M.E. Church
- Mt. Zion Baptist Church
- Morning Star Baptist Church
- Metropolitan Baptist Church
- Greater Union Baptist Church
- Paradise Baptist Church
- Wesley Chapel
- First Baptist Church North Tulsa
- Bethel Seventh Day Adventist
- First Church of God in Christ
- Christ Temple C.M.E.
- Church of the Living God Temple 53
- Progressive Baptist Church
FLORES: “How does it make you feel to be able to provide this needed help to individuals who may not otherwise be able to get it?”
SOLOMON-SIMMONS: “For me to have dealt with this personally in our family, and know what it's like, and then as a lawyer over the years, helping families, but they had to pay- to be able to provide this service for free to the survivors and descendants of a massacre, it is a dream come true."
For more information on how to receive help and any questions on eligibility, you can contact Justice for Greenwood at (918) 212-8810.
You can also visit their site here for more information on their other programs.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere --
- 2 News Oklahoma on your schedule | Download on your TV, watch for free. How to watch on your streaming device
- Download our free app for Apple, Android and Kindle devices.
- Like us on Facebook
- Follow us on Instagram
- Watch LIVE 24/7 on YouTube
