Blighted spaces and vacant land: Corinice Wilson talks plans and issues facing north Tulsa

On Tuesday, District 1 voters will get their last chance to decide who will represent them on Tulsa City Council. The race that started with five candidates has been narrowed to two: incumbent Vanessa Hall-Harper and challenger Corinice Wilson.

The Eagle invited both Hall-Harper and Wilson on a ride around the district they hope to serve for the next two years. 

You can read our conversation below or watch our video with Wilson. 

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Editor’s note: Answers have been edited for length and clarity. 

Wilson shared what she’s enjoyed the most so far about running for office: 

“The best part of this journey has been being able to meet neighbors on the doorstops, canvass on the phones. Individuals have DM’d me and said, ‘Hey, I would like to ask you questions about your platform,’ and I call them and they’re like, ‘Oh my, you called me back?’ And I’m like, ‘Well, yes, that’s what I’m supposed to do.’ I have been able to kind of talk and share. So that’s been the highlight.”

We then traveled to where Wilson grew up, which is far enough north to be considered Turley. She reflected on the change the neighborhood has endured over the years:

“I often say let’s not define a person’s potential by where they grew up and where they live. But just pour into them so they can be successful. Building community is more than just ‘your kid is acting up.’ It’s more like, let me give you advice, let me give you recommendations on how to move and how to engage. (Today) we just operate differently. 

This was the most beautiful area in north Tulsa. When you look outside your door, that kind of sets your mindset. That helps when you think about taking a deep breath in and seeing beauty around you. You’re like, oh yes, this feels good. But when you see stray dogs, when you see there’s no lights … you can’t even see the marker of where I grew up.”

Wilson then took us to the corner of East 56th Street North and MLK Jr. Boulevard, where her middle school once stood. She talked about how it feels seeing vacant land:

“It’s disheartening. But when you think about your childhood and your memories, it is within who you are. For me, it fuels my desire to keep working for the individuals who still reside here.”

Standing in the lot of the blighted Plaza Center, Wilson shared some of her visions for how spaces could be transformed for north Tulsans:

“You see these like large spaces of development that are just ripe to see how we can (use them). I think about 21st and Garnett where they just opened up this plaza for entrepreneurship, and where people can have businesses, where people can buy goods and what have you. Wouldn’t that be amazing to see how we could do that, or have an automotive kind of incubation? There are so many different things we have to start thinking outside the box and seeing how this type of development can happen.”

Our trip with Wilson ended outside the old YMCA, where she shared a personal love story:

“If it wasn’t for the Y, I wouldn’t have an amazing special ed son or husband who is so patient. So I just wanted to end here and just say that again, the Y was very important. You had community members meeting, but it played a very important role for many of us who were able to come to the Y and have services, have something to do.” 

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