many say it s incumbent upon white folks to reckon with the past. white folks were perpetrators and they re dealing with the pains of that. craig? trymaine, president biden, again, the first president to ever visit tulsa to talk about what happened there 100 years ago today, it s kind of hard to believe if you think about it, the fact he will be the first, but give us an idea of what his visit is going to mean to that community. how important is this moment to folks who are there in tulsa? reporter: craig, this moment president biden visiting tulsa means a lot. you have to understand up until the early 2000s, the tulsa massacre wasn t even taught in oklahoma history classes. they buried it, intentionally so, and local forces were complicit in burying that. when the descendents of those victims and survivors pushed to shine a light in the very dark places in this community and remember the dead and all the sacrifices they made and the efforts to rebuild this goes a long way in valid
reporter: the centennial bringing renewed calls for reparations. at 107 years old, survivor viola fletcher recently testifying before congress. i hear the screams. i have lived through the massacre every day. reporter: on may 31st, 1921, an angry white mob stormed through tulsa s greenwood neighborhood, also known as black wall street. in less than 24 hours, an estimated 300 black americans would be left dead, thousands of homes and businesses destroyed. anneliese bruner s great-grandmother mary e. jones parrish owned a typing school in greenwood. she ran for her life during the attack. 100 years later and no one has ever been held accountable for what happened on those two days. significance of that? it s a terrible legacy, and i think that tulsa has the opportunity to be the crucible for the reckoning. reporter: in 2019, the state required that lessons on the tragedy in tulsa be included in oklahoma history classes.
think that tulsa has the opportunity to be the crucible for the reckoning. reporter: in 2019, the state required that lessons on the tragedy in tulsa be included in oklahoma history classes. not one cent of taxpayer money should be used to define or divide young oklahomans about their race. reporter: but it is these uncomfortable truths that many agree have to be told for there to be any hope of restoration and healing. whit, later tonight, there will be a candlelight vigil. in the meantime, president biden today releasing a proclamation, calling on all americans to, quote, reflect on the deep roots of racial terror in this country. he is expected to arrive here tomorrow. whit? marcus moore, thank you. now to iowa, and the desperate search for an 11-year-old boy. xavier harrelson last seen on thursday. residents turning out to help first responders and the boy s family comb through the area for clues. here s abc s alex perez. reporter: tonight, investigators in iowa despera