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On May 31 and June 1, 1921, a white mob – enraged by a rumor that a young Black man had assaulted a white woman – attacked the Black community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The mob set fire to the district, looted businesses, killed Black residents, and displaced thousands.
It was one of the most devastating incidents of racist violence in U.S. history. And it stayed mostly unmentioned for decades.
Today, 100 years after what is now known as the Tulsa race massacre, the city is finally reckoning with its past. But the process is raising difficult questions. Some residents say such a horrific event needs to be brought forward and understood. Others, however, ask why the memory needs to be relived at all. Why commemorate it? Can’t the city just move on?
The failure by city and state authorities in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to provide comprehensive reparations has compounded the harms of the May 31, 1921 Tulsa race massacre on its upcoming centennial.
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100 years ago, this area was known as Black Wall Street. Then it came to a heartbreaking end
May 16, 2021 12:33 PM CNN
FILE - In this Monday, June 15, 2020, file photo, a sign marks the intersection of Greenwood Avenue and Archer Street, the former home of Black Wall Street, in Tulsa, Okla. Black community leaders in Tulsa said they fear a large rally by President Donald Trump in the city this weekend could spark violence, and the state s governor asked Trump not to visit the site of a race massacre where up to 300 black residents were killed by white mobs in 1921. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Tulsa Race Massacre 100th anniversary: Meet 10 Tulsans who are helping promote the history
TULSA, Oklahoma (Tulsa World) The Tulsa World recently talked to 10 Tulsans who, each in their own way, have committed to telling the story of Greenwood and the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre while helping raise awareness of its too-long-ignored history.
50 years ago, the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre was a taboo subject when Tulsan Ed Wheeler set out to write an article ‘to find out what happened.’ He had no idea the threats and resistance he would face just for trying.
From O.W. Gurley to its present-day legacy: Greenwood District land ownership has evolved in the last century