The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921

The Tulsa, Oklahoma Race Riot took place during a time of racial tensions in the United States. It was a time when white people who committed crimes against black people were not guilty in the eyes of law, in some places. Tulsa, Oklahoma was one of those places. Racial segregation reigned supreme. Vigilante violence against blacks who had not yet been convicted of crimes was becoming commonplace. The media promoted racial tensions and the law could do nothing to stop it, because very few officials wanted to bother.

On May 31, 1921, a young black man boarded an elevator in which a young white woman was standing. He either stepped on her foot or was forced to grab onto her after tripping. Some even say the two were arguing lovers. Either way, she screamed. This brought the police and the man was brought to the local courthouse to be held for questioning. The papers lashed onto this incident, claiming that the young man attempted to rape the woman. They even went so far as to incite violence, mentioning lynching and sensationalizing the whole situation.

The year before, a suspected murderer, who happened to be black, was removed from his jail cell in Tulsa and hanged by a white mob. On May 31, 1921, at about 7:30 p.m., another mob of white people gathered outside of the courthouse in an attempt to do the same. Unlike the year before, authorities refused to turn over their prisoner. A group of black men with guns showed up at the courthouse to offer their assistance to authorities. They were refused twice. The second time they began to leave peacefully, a white man attempted to take one of their guns. Someone fired, presumably hurting no one, but triggering the worst race riot in United States history.

Whites began attacking blacks all over Tulsa. Naturally, Tulsan African Americans tried to defend themselves, but they were vastly outnumbered. As the night wore on, the mob decided that they would attack the largely black Greenwood community in Tulsa first thing in the morning. As dawn broke, the neighborhood was overcome with angry white people. They looted, murdered and then set fire to the area. When the National Guard finally arrived to help, it was too late. Greenwood was destroyed.

Instead of giving in to the hatred heaped on them, the blacks of Tulsa lived in tents while they rebuilt their community. The young man whose accident had triggered the riot was found innocent and set free, but the damage was done. Not a single white person was charged with any crime in the aftermath. They got away with mass violence, property damage and murder.

The Tulsa Race Riot lasted a total of 18 hours, but did years of lasting damage. An estimated 1,000 buildings were destroyed. Between 50 and 300 people were murdered. That is a large discrepancy. However, sources vary and some of the dead were "disposed of" in unmarked graves and not recovered until decades later. The whole event has the air of having happened in a country at war with itself. While that is not entirely true, it is true enough.

Source

Oklahoma Historical Society, retrieved 6/2/11, Tulsa Race Riot, digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/T/TU013.html