Creating Community at Fulton Street - Onikah Asamoa-Caesar

Welcome to Tulsa Talks presented by Tulsa Regional Chamber. I’m your host Tim Landes. I’m thrilled to share this conversation with you. The voice you heard kicking this off is my guest, Onikah Asamoa-Caesar. She’s the founder of soon-to-open Fulton Street Books and Coffee located in the Heights, which is just northwest of downtown Tulsa. Onikah’s story is incredible. We shared it in our February issue in a great feature written by Jessica Brent. If you haven’t read it, visit TulsaPeople.com and search Fulton Street. 
 
After reading the article, I wanted to dig deeper and Onikah was down to reflect more on the first 30 years of her life and how it led to her opening the bookstore this spring. She was born in New Jersey, moved to California and entered the foster care system. That took her to Mississippi before she returned to California for college. From there she traveled the globe and then attended John Hopkins. She joined Teach for America and chose to come to Tulsa. It was not a great initial experience. As you’ll hear, it took her leaving Tulsa to realize she missed it and wanted to come back and make some change. 

 Now she’s close to becoming a first-time mother and opening her first business, as her husband Kojo Asamoa-Caesar makes a run at representing Oklahoma’s First Congressional District. 

I’m thankful for Onikah being so open about her experiences and the challenges she’s faced along the way. I have no doubt she’ll find success in creating a space for community and conversation for Tulsans.

A note, it was a very busy day in our offices when we recorded our conversation, so at times you might hear some faint background chatter from a big project happening nearby during our chat.

Following that story, city editor Morgan Phillips shares her experience adopting a new family companion through the Pet Adoption League. It’s been nearly eight years since I adopted my best friend from the organization, and it’s great to hear they are still creating furever homes in Tulsa. 

Closing out the episode, The Voice’s Kyra Bruce shares a song from the indie-psych rock trio, Zunis. 

Alright let’s get this going. 

This is Tulsa Talks.