There have been many times white people used a Black "crime" (often itself made up, or greatly exaggerated) as an excuse to attack Black people. The Tulsa Race Massacre is one of those events. It is also known as one of the worst. Tulsa's Greenwood district had become a popular neighborhood for Black people, and soon the area was quite well off, as the people there supported each other, bought from each other, and soon the area was known as "The Black Wall Street." Dick Rowland, a young Black man who worked as an elevator operator, was accused of assaulting a white girl. After he was taken into custody, Black and white citizens gathered around the courthouse, which led to a confrontation and an exchange of gunfire, during which 10 whites and 2 Blacks died. Whites exploded in violence, and attacked the Greenwood district en masse. Through the night and into the next morning, they killed Blacks, destroyed and looted property, and generally laid waste to the district. The citizens of the district were never compensated for their losses. Many Black families left the area afterwards, and those who stayed remained silent about the Massacre for decades. In 1996, the Oklahoma legislature formed a commission to look into what had happened that day. In 2001, they released their findings, stating that the City leaders had conspired with the white rioters to attack the Black community. They suggested reparations, as well as formal acknowledgement of the event, which came in the form of a Memorial Park in Tulsa remembering the victims of the attack that day. The park was dedicated in 2010, and as of this year, the event is now taught as part of the history curriculum in Oklahoma schools.
Sources:
- Wikipedia: Tulsa Race Massacre
- Brittanica: Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921
- PBS: What happened 99 years ago in the Tulsa Race Massacre
- CNN: 99 Years Ago Today, America Was Shaken by One of Its Deadliest Acts of Racial Violence (Videos)
- ABC: Tulsa marks grim anniversary of 1921 'race massacre' as protests sweep the nation
- History: Tulsa Race Massacre
- USA Today: 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Destroyed 'Black Wall Street' Community (Photos)
- 1921 Race Massacre Centennial Commission
- May 31, 1921: Tulsa Massacre
- Tulsa Race Massacre: This Is What Happened in Tulsa in 1921
- Tulsa Race Massacre
- It’s ironic that the Tulsa massacre that destroyed Black Wall Street happened 99 years ago this week
As I said above, this was far from the only time something like this happened. In fact, it was the culmination of years of anger between Blacks and whites, as I will show in my next piece.
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