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Tulsa, Oklahoma used to have USA`s most affluent black neighborhood of 10,000 people with over a thousand houses many businesses including a 900 seat theater. They had educated people with law firms and insurance companies and they were all razed to the ground and even fired- bombed all the businesses (some from airplanes in 1921) after an alleged confrontation between a white female elevator operator and a black shoe shine boy. A Lynch Mob came out and forced everyone to vacate their houses. Those found with weapons were killed on the spot. The black owned houses were then ransacked and then torched One By One. This happened around Memorial Day over a three-day period.
The Police and possibly the KKK showed up with American flags and machine guns.
The history of this was hidden from view because the newspaper archives and the microfiche stories in that time were stolen or destroyed. The news account said it was started by the Black Folk but it was the white racist criminals that did the massacre and the white part of town was untouched. The National Guard came in later but we don't know what happened. All we know was that what was once an affluent part of the city was totally destroyed almost like the fires of Dresden in World War II. Worse, the insurance companies did not paying any insurance claims saying it was a riot or civil insurrection.
The Police and possibly the KKK showed up with American flags and machine guns.
The history of this was hidden from view because the newspaper archives and the microfiche stories in that time were stolen or destroyed. The news account said it was started by the Black Folk but it was the white racist criminals that did the massacre and the white part of town was untouched. The National Guard came in later but we don't know what happened. All we know was that what was once an affluent part of the city was totally destroyed almost like the fires of Dresden in World War II. Worse, the insurance companies did not paying any insurance claims saying it was a riot or civil insurrection.
Listen Now: Confronting the Past
Posted from one.npr.org
Ethics
Tulsa
American History
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 3
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There are some very ugly parts of our history that we need to recognize to understand why we are where we are.
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The area burned was called black wall street and the headline of the Tulsa tribune helped to incite the riot " NEGRO TO BE LYNCHED TONIGHT" Many black veterans weren't having any of that shots were fired blacks pushed back across pine street. Yes the National Guard in Tulsa was a participant although not helping to restore order. The army had to be sent from Oklahoma city to quell the rioting and bloodshed. It is easy to see looking at the aftermath that history can repeat itself and will if folks ignore the lessons of the past. Interestingly enough much of the anger reached Freudian levels of paranoia " black man harming hurting a white woman" also one would need to look at many of the other race related riots of the era St. Louis for example to see that this was a trend. It is good to put the past in perspective to learn from the mistakes of those that came before us.
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As a native Tulsan I am familiar with this event. It's something that you hear about growing up and depending on who you talk to you get wildly different accounts of what caused and continued the riot. I will say everyone has always spoken from the viewpoint of regret, regardless who you talk to. Was there some kind of attack motivated in mob justice? What was the real body count? Did black neighborhoods burn the city down in protest or was it done by whites? I don't know...I wasn't there. And neither will any of us. I can say if we approach it from an after action stand point we can say organized agitation rarely leads to anything good. When extreme groups like the KKK, BLM, Sharpton followers, nazis, etc show up...it isn't so calmer heads can prevail. What I do know is I hope the media accounts we have today l are not all that future generations have to go on to document our history.
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