"little africa on fire" (caption on pic reads)-
i remember it like it was yesterday...10 years ago, i was a sophomore in high school teaching my u.s. history class (including teacher who was easily twice my age) about an overlooked, often forgotten and hushed turning point of my city's history: the tulsa race riot of 1921. until recently, it was left out of a lot of history books. many thought i was crazy as i related the stories told to me by some of the survivors. they say oral history is biased, but realistically, written history is full of politics (ie: in 1919, president woodrow wilson received the nobel piece prize for his peace efforts abroad, but shortly after he leaves office, north tulsa gets burned to the ground. ironic?)
may 30-june 1, 1921- the basics of the tulsa race riot
setting and premise:may 1921. widespread economic depression across the entire u.s. oklahoma 14 years past declaration of statehood. harding is president. promising return to normalcy. works to outlaw lynching. kkk at highest numbers. tulsa, ok had it's own "mason-dixon line" and is divided by one street running east-west (admiral). blacks and black owned businesses, schools, etc to the north. whites and white owned businesses, schools etc to the south. the prominent black side of town was called greenwood. it was know for it's upbeat nightlife where many musicians passed through to perform, it's self-sufficency (grown here, bought here), and rapid flourishment. unlike their white neighbors to the south, the area proved to be thriving and recession-proof earning the nickname "black wallstreet". before there was chicago, dallas, atlanta, and los angeles (as they are now); there was tulsa-the pride of the great southwest.
"cause": a black man trips while entering an elevator (operated by a white woman) of a building he worked in and breaks his fall by hanging on the elevator operator. she screams. he is subsequently arrested for assault (elevated to sexual assault). rumor gets out that he was to be hung for his crime. a crowd of black men, take up arms and march to the courthouse. a white man, at the courthouse grabs the gun of one of the black men there. a struggle ensues, the white man lay dead, and the riot begins. the greenwood area, also known as black wallstreet, is burned down to the ground by angry white rioters. planes were used to "burn little africa" to the ground. after the riot was over, the elevator operator dropped the charges due to a "misunderstanding".
aftermath: official death toll was set at 39 (26 black and 13 white). despite the coverup, there has been sufficent evidence brought forth to prove that a mass burial exists across the street from where the old drillers baseball stadium once stoodb where many were rounded up for "safety" then mowed down with machine guns and dragged out, dumped into a landfill-like grave where a shopping center now sits. additionaly, there was a park that called for expansion in 2002. when excavation began, another mass burial was found.
many mayors, governors, congressmen, politicians etc. have aplogized for the incident yet have failed to agree on an appropriate form of repirations. to date, the greenwood area has yet to recover and is now considered the ghetto.
food for thought. remember my city as it was this holiday.
Dom
if nobody feels you, i feels you, feel me?
be easy coz life is hard...
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