What was the Tulsa Race Massacre?
Artist Paul Rucker is creating a new multimedia work to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. That's when a thriving African American community was destroyed in a horrific act of violence that wiped out hundreds of Black-owned businesses and homes.
Will our country ever forget the Tulsa massacre?
100 years ago today, a massacre of Black residents occurred in Tulsa, Oklahoma and was promptly and deliberately forgotten. Our country may forget this history, but I cannot, I will not, and other survivors do not. And our descendants do not.
What happened in Tulsa in 1921?
I’m here seeking justice, and I’m asking my country to acknowledge what happened in Tulsa in 1921. 100 years ago today, a massacre of Black residents occurred in Tulsa, Oklahoma and was promptly and deliberately forgotten. Our country may forget this history, but I cannot, I will not, and other survivors do not.
What happened to Tulsa's Greenwood district?
On May 31, 1921, Tulsa, Oklahoma's Greenwood District was a thriving Black residential and business community — a city within a city. By June 1, a white mob, with the support of law enforcement, had reduced it to ashes.
When did the Tulsa race massacre happen?
Blindspot: Tulsa Burning On May 31, 1921, Tulsa's Greenwood District was thriving — a Black city within a city. By June 1, it was in ashes, leveled by a white supremacist mob. The Tulsa Race Massacre remains one of the worst incidents of racial terror in U.S. history.
Who survived the Tulsa massacre?
The people featured in this podcast series who survived the massacre went on to live rich and varied lives: Mary Elizabeth Jones Parrish —the journalist whose book Events of a Tulsa Disaster is a primary source for much of what we know about the massacre—taught high school in Muskogee and ultimately returned to Tulsa.
When did Tulsa burn?
Introducing Blindspot: Tulsa Burning. May 21, 2021 •. On May 31, 1921, the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma was a thriving city within a city — a symbol of pride, success and wealth. The next morning, it was ashes. What happened remained a secret for almost a century.
What happened in Tulsa in 1921?
On May 31, 1921, Tulsa's Greenwood District was thriving — a Black city within a city. By June 1, it was in ashes, leveled by a white supremacist mob. The Tulsa Race Massacre remains one of the worst incidents of racial terror in U.S. history. In six episodes, Blindspot: Tulsa Burning tells the story of a thriving neighborhood ...
How many people were killed in the Greenwood massacre?
Estimates vary, but reports say the marauders killed 100 to 300 people; and they left thousands homeless, faced with the daunting task of rebuilding.
When did the Tulsa shooting happen?
On May 31, 1921, Tulsa, Oklahoma's Greenwood District was a thriving Black residential and business community — a city within a city. By June 1, a white mob, with the support of law enforcement, had reduced it to ashes. And yet the truth about the attack remained a secret to many for nearly a century.Chief Egunwale Amusan grew up in Tulsa — his ...
How many people were lynched in the Red Summer of 1919?
After the war, white mobs plundered and burned Black neighborhoods throughout the country. And during the "Red Summer" of 1919, whites lynched more than 80 people, including Black veterans. Groups like the African Blood Brotherhood responded by urging people to defend themselves — with force, if necessary.
What were the racial tensions in the US in the 1920s?
Racial tensions in the US in the 1920s were very high. Segregation was in full swing and helped see to it that black and white communities were kept separate. Laws commonly referred to as the Jim Crow laws had already affected much of the black community in the South, as well as the North.
Did the world know about the Tulsa race massacre?
It was decided that the world did not need to know about the Tulsa Race Massacre. Instead, it was thought that it would be better to cover the entire thing up. Documents were destroyed, including the original Tulsa Tribune article, and bodies were buried in mass graves. Soon, it was almost like it had not happened whatsoever. And all citizens knew that it was not something you spoke about in public.
Who was the author of the Tulsa massacre?
Joining us on the centennial to talk about the Tulsa Race Massacre and its legacy is Tulsa historian and prolific author and lawyer, Hannibal B. Johnson.
What followed the Greenwood massacre?
What followed the massacre was a national forgetting: no reckoning, no justice, and no accountability. Black property owners were never compensated, and neither the city nor the state committed money toward rebuilding Greenwood in the aftermath.
What was the Red Cross called after the massacre?
Really great relief in terms of, in the immediate post massacre period, health care, food, shelter, clothing, et cetera. Red Cross was called Angels of Mercy, both by people in the Black community and people in the White community.
What happened to the white mob in Frisco?
The large White mob spilled over the Frisco tracks into the Greenwood community, shooting and looting and burning, destroying everything in sight, murdering people. Many of the people in the mob, the White mob, were deputized by local law enforcement officers.
What was the black riot in the 1920s?
In the early 1920s, Black Americans were under the siege of direct and indirect racial violence with widespread lynchings, Jim Crow laws, and race riots across the country.
How many race riots were there in 1919?
In 1919, just two years prior to the Tulsa outbreak, there are more than two dozen so-called race riots.
What was the Tulsa race massacre?
Transcript. Artist Paul Rucker is creating a new multimedia work to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. That's when a thriving African American community was destroyed in a horrific act of violence that wiped out hundreds of Black-owned businesses and homes. Above, an aerial view of Tulsa, Okla., Fowler & Kelly, 1918.
When was the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre?
Transcript. A woman cries out on May 31 while attending a candlelight vigil in the Greenwood district during commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre in Tulsa, Okla. President Biden visited Tulsa on Tuesday for the 100th anniversary of an attack that left as many as 300 people dead.
What happened in the Tulsa race?
Buildings were destroyed in a massive fire during the Tulsa Race Massacre when a white mob attacked the Greenwood neighborhood, a prosperous Black community in Tulsa, Okla., in 1921. Eyewitnesses recalled the specter of men carrying torches through the streets to set fire to homes and businesses.
When is the Tulsa massacre 2021?
May 24, 2021 • Survivors and their descendants say facing the truth about the Tulsa Race Massacre is essential in the nation's struggle to confront racial injustice and violence against Black people.
When is Paul Rucker's 100th anniversary?
May 31, 2021 • Paul Rucker's multimedia work tackles mass incarceration, lynching, police brutality and the ways America has been shaped by slavery. His latest marks the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre.
When is the 100th anniversary of racial violence?
May 30, 2021 • Monday is the 100th anniversary of one of the worst acts of racial violence in American history. A spate of books and documentaries are marking the moment; we round up three to watch this weekend.
Who is the producer of Fire in Little Africa?
Live From Cain’s. May 28, 2021 • Stevie Johnson is the executive producer of Fire in Little Africa, a hip-hop album commemorating the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre's centennial that honors the city's past, while bridging new communities.
Where did the Tulsa massacre take place?
Scores of residents were shot on their porches and on the streets, and incendiary devices were dropped from the air. The Tulsa massacre took place in Greenwood, a prosperous area full of businesses run and owned by black families.
What is the Tulsa burning?
A co-production between The History Channel and WNYC, Tulsa Burning is a quietly devastating documentary series that hears from historians, experts and the descendants of those who lived through or died in the violence and assesses the repercussions across the generations.
Who is the host of the Burning of Black Tulsa?
The Burning of Black Tulsa. Hosted by Michael Barbaro; produced by Neena Pathak, Soraya Shockley, Annie Brown and Daniel Guillemette, with help from Alexandra Leigh Young and Austin Mitchell; edited by Liz O. Baylen and Lisa Chow; and engineered by Chris Wood. Special thanks to Sheena Perez and Mallory Covington.
Who was the black shoeshine man in Tulsa in 1921?
It’s a threat for white Tulsa. And then on the morning of May 30, 1921, a Black shoeshine man named Dick Rowland is working downtown, as usual. He takes a break to go to the bathroom in one of the few places that allows Negroes to use the bathroom.
What was the first iconic building in Tulsa?
It had a business strip that was known at the time as a Negro Wall Street, and it all this was self-contained on the Black side of the tracks in segregated Tulsa. So when you came across the tracks from White Tulsa into Greenwood Avenue, one of the first iconic buildings you encountered was the Dreamland Movie Theater.
Was Tulsa a boom town?
Tulsa in the early 1900s was an oil town. Oil’s becoming very big at that point. It’s becoming a boom town . And as the boom attracted more and more people to work in the oil fields, and also to serve those people who worked in the oil fields and brought that money on— to start restaurants and other businesses.
Racial Tensions
- Racial tensions in the US in the 1920s were very high. Segregation was in full swing and helped see to it that black and white communities were kept separate. Laws commonly referred to as the Jim Crow laws had already affected much of the black community in the South, as well as the North. These laws were a culmination of efforts to control the black population. Quite a lot of th…
Greenwood
- The Greenwood District of Tulsa was a northern part of the city that’s population was predominantly black. The white citizens of Tulsa even referred to Greenwood as “Little Africa”. The thing about Greenwood, however, is that it was a very proud neighbourhood. The community there was dedicated to each other, and dedicated to bettering the neighbourhood. Some Greenwood c…
Dick Rowland
- Even with all of this wealth, Greenwood wasn’t protected from persecution. That couldn’t be more evident than one of the main people in this story, Dick Rowland. Rowland was a shoe-shiner in the white part of Tulsa. Throughout his workday, he would frequently enter the Drexel building to use their “coloured” toilets. The operator of this elevator, Sarah Page, was a young white woman. Su…
Courthouse
- Outside the courthouse, hundreds of whites began gathering demanding that the sheriff turns over Rowland to the mob. Luckily for Rowland, the current county sheriff, Sheriff McCullough, refused because it was his opinion that the matter should be settled in court, not with mob violence. I say it’s lucky for Rowland because the previous sheriff did let a mob take a prisoner t…
The Massacre
- Once the first shot was fired, albeit accidentally, an enormous battle began. All of the whites began to fire on any black Tulsan they saw. Anyone left on the white side of Tulsa was fair game for the mob. Of the blacks killed on the white side of Tulsa was a young, skinny man who goes unnamed in all sources. He was shot by a barrage of bullets but...
Aftermath
- It was decided that the world did not need to know about the Tulsa Race Massacre. Instead, it was thought that it would be better to cover the entire thing up. Documents were destroyed, including the original Tulsa Tribunearticle, and bodies were buried in mass graves. Soon, it was almost like it had not happened whatsoever. And all citizens knew that it was not something you spoke abo…