happened. sociologists and historians talk about the nadir point of race relations in america, referring to the early part of the 20th century. we know that red summer occurred summer and fall of 1919. red is a metaphorical reference for blood that flowed in the streets from 24 major so-called race riots in america. this is also the time in which lynching was proliferating across the country. lynching really is a form of domestic terrorism. so it s in this national context that the event here in tulsa occurred. and tulsa was on its way to becoming the oil capital of the world during this period. so a lot of attention around the nation was focused on the city. the black community in the greenwood district, fondly called black wall street, was situated on a parcel of land that was desired by the railroads and other corporate interests. in addition, the klan had a huge presence in tulsa and in oklahoma during the 1920s.