- Also called:
- Tulsa race riot of 1921
- Date:
- May 31, 1921 - June 1, 1921
- Location:
- Oklahoma
- Tulsa
- United States
Tulsa race massacre of 1921
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What was the Tulsa race massacre of 1921?
The Tulsa race massacre occurred May 31–June 1, 1921, and stands as one of the most severe incidents of racial violence in U.S. history. Sparked by accusations against a young Black man, Dick Rowland, the Tulsa Tribune reported a potential lynching, which ignited a confrontation between armed Black men and a white mob at the courthouse where Rowland was held.
For two days, white mobs looted and burned Black-owned businesses and homes in the Greenwood neighborhood, also known as Black Wall Street. Experts estimate that as many as 300 people, mostly African Americans, died, and over 1,400 homes and businesses were destroyed, leaving nearly 10,000 people homeless. The state formed a commission in the late 1990s to formally document the incident, which had been largely absent from history books until then.
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Where did the Tulsa race massacre happen?
The Tulsa race massacre of 1921 occurred in Tulsa, Oklahoma, beginning on May 31, 1921, and lasting for two days. It decimated Tulsa’s prosperous Black neighborhood of Greenwood, also known as “Black Wall Street”. More than 1,400 homes and businesses were burned, and nearly 10,000 people were left homeless. The massacre left between 30 and 300 people dead, mostly African Americans. The Greenwood Rising history center and the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park now commemorate the massacre and its victims.
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Who were the main groups involved in the Tulsa race massacre?
The Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921 involved primarily a white mob attacking the African American community of Greenwood, also known as Black Wall Street, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This mob comprised many World War I veterans trained in firearms, who looted and burned homes and businesses. The violence resulted in the destruction of over 1,400 homes and businesses, leaving nearly 10,000 people homeless. While the official death toll recorded 10 white and 26 African American deaths, many experts estimate that at least 300 people were killed.
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What events led to the beginning of the massacre?
On May 30, 1921, Dick Rowland, a young African American, was accused of assaulting Sarah Page, a white elevator operator, in Tulsa. The next day, the Tulsa Tribune reported Rowland's alleged rape attempt and hinted at a planned lynching. Consequently, both white and Black mobs gathered at the courthouse where Rowland was held. A confrontation between an armed African American, there to protect Rowland, and a white protester resulted in the death of the latter, inciting the white mob and igniting the Tulsa Massacre.
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How did the massacre affect the Black community in Tulsa, especially in the Greenwood District?
The Tulsa race massacre had a devastating impact on Tulsa's Black community, especially the Greenwood District, also known as Black Wall Street. Beginning on May 31, 1921, the massacre resulted in the deaths of an estimated 30 to 300 people, most of whom were African Americans. White mobs burned more than 1,400 homes and businesses, leaving nearly 10,000 people homeless.
The violence took a heavy financial toll on survivors, but Black American professionals and entrepreneurs slowly began to rebuild the district, with 80 businesses opened by the end of 1922. Despite the destruction and loss, the community thrived throughout the first half of the century. The Greenwood Cultural Center and the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park were later established to commemorate the massacre, promote harmonious race relations, and preserve Black Wall Street's history.
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Why is the Tulsa race massacre important to remember in United States history?
The Tulsa race massacre is a crucial event in U.S. history because it highlights the depths of racial violence and injustice in the nation. In 1921, mobs of white people destroyed Tulsa, Oklahoma's prosperous Black neighborhood of Greenwood, known as Black Wall Street, leaving thousands of African Americans homeless and hundreds dead.
For decades, this horrific event was omitted from history books, symbolizing a deliberate amnesia regarding racial terrorism in America. Remembering the Tulsa massacre is essential to acknowledging past wrongs, understanding the ongoing impact of racial discrimination, and promoting a more inclusive and accurate narrative of American history.
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The Tulsa race massacre of 1921 was one of the most severe incidents of racial violence in U.S. history. It occurred in Tulsa, Oklahoma, beginning on May 31, 1921, and lasting for two days. The massacre left somewhere between 30 and 300 people dead, mostly African Americans, and destroyed Tulsa’s prosperous Black neighborhood of Greenwood, known as “Black Wall Street.” More than 1,400 homes and businesses were burned, and nearly 10,000 people were left homeless. Despite its severity and destructiveness, the Tulsa race massacre was barely mentioned in history books until the late 1990s, when a state commission was formed to document the incident. See also list of race riots and massacres in the United States.
On May 30, 1921, Dick Rowland, a young African American shoe shiner, was accused of assaulting a white elevator operator named Sarah Page in the elevator of a building in downtown Tulsa. The next day the Tulsa Tribune printed a story saying that Rowland had tried to rape Page, with an accompanying editorial stating that a lynching was planned for that night. That evening mobs of both African Americans and whites descended on the courthouse where Rowland was being held. When a confrontation between an armed African American man, there to protect Rowland, and a white protester resulted in the death of the latter, the white mob was incensed, and the Tulsa massacre was thus ignited.
Over the next two days, mobs of white people looted and set fire to African American businesses and homes throughout the city. Many of the mob members were recently returned World War I veterans trained in the use of firearms and are said to have shot African Americans on sight. Some survivors even claimed that people in airplanes dropped incendiary bombs.
When the massacre ended on June 1, the official death toll was recorded at 10 whites and 26 African Americans, though many experts now believe at least 300 people were killed. Shortly after the massacre there was a brief official inquiry, but documents related to the massacre disappeared soon afterward. The event never received widespread attention and was long noticeably absent from the history books used to teach Oklahoma schoolchildren.
In 1997 a Tulsa Race Riot Commission was formed by the state of Oklahoma to investigate the massacre and formally document the incident. Members of the commission gathered accounts of survivors who were still alive, documents from individuals who witnessed the massacre but had since died, and other historical evidence. Scholars used the accounts of witnesses and ground-piercing radar to locate a potential mass grave just outside Tulsa’s Oaklawn Cemetery, suggesting the death toll may be much higher than the original records indicate. In its preliminary recommendations, the commission suggested that the state of Oklahoma pay $33 million in restitution, some of it to the 121 surviving victims who had been located. However, no legislative action was ever taken on the recommendation, and the commission had no power to force legislation. The commission’s final report was published on February 28, 2001. In April 2002 a private religious charity, the Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry, paid a total of $28,000 to the survivors, a little more than $200 each, using funds raised from private donations.
In 2010 John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park was opened in the Greenwood District to memorialize the massacre. Named for historian and civil rights advocate John Hope Franklin, whose father survived the massacre, the park features the Tower of Reconciliation, a 25-foot- (7.5-meter-) tall sculpture that commemorates African American struggle. Greenwood Rising, a history center honoring Black Wall Street, memorializing the victims of the massacre, and telling its story, was established in 2021 by the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission, founded in 2015.