Echoes of the Past: The Significance of Remembering the Tulsa Race Massacre

Tulsa Race Massacre
Keren Dillard, The Department of African American Studies
May 31, 2024

This May 31st, we remember the horrific acts that took place on Tuesday, May 31st of 1921 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

This day marked the beginning of a 48 hour racial massacre resulting in the recorded death of 300 people, mostly of African descent. The massacre took life and destroyed the prosperous Black neighborhood of Greenwood, commonly referred to as “Black Wall Street''. Here, over 1,400 homes and buisnesses were burned to the ground by a lynch mob due to an accusation of assault by African American shoe shiner, Dick Rowland, towards white elevator operator, Sarah Page. The events of the massare mark one of the largest events of unpunished and unprosecuted domestic terrorism in the United States. 

Black Americans arrived in Tulsa in the late 1800s, after failed Reconstruction and before Oklahoma was granted statehood. African American attorney, Edwin P. McCabe, led many of the migrating peoples to Oklahoma and encouraged them to form Oklahoma clubs in effort to make Oklahoma an all-Black state. As McCabe was the former clerk for the United States Treasury Department, many people trusted his guidance. The newly emancipated Black American migrants are responsible for the founding of 30 Black towns in Oklahoma, but a Black state was never granted nor achieved.

By 1889, the United States had initiated the Oklahoma Land Run, and in so doing land was made available after the American government dispossessed the Cherokee nation of over 8,144,683 acres of their territory. Greenwood was established on a portion of these lands by O.W. Gurley who took land during the rush. Gurley bought 40 acres of land in northwestern Tulsa after oil production began, with the goal of making space for Black economic growth. He developed the land into commercial and residential areas, mapping out the community that he named “Greenwood”. As Gurley had intended, the town became extremely prosperous. Greenwood, Tulsa, Oklahoma was home to a luxury hotel, a newspaper, a confectionery, many office buildings, a theater, a taxi business, auto repair and sales, a hospital, a high school, and several churches, beauty salons and public community spaces. 

Greenwood was a site of black prosperity and protection. In doing just that, when Dick Rowland was set to be lynched a group of armed black men went downtown to Tulsa to protect Rowland. When a white man attempted to forcibly disarm one of the men, shots were fired and war began. In revenge, beginning on the night of May 31st, black residents of Greenwood were attacked by a white mob and 35 blocks were flattened by violence. After the events the Tulsa City Council passed an ordinance rezoning the land from residential to commercial, preventing any reconstruction of what was lost. As quickly as sunrise came, 9,000 people were left without anything to claim. Unfortunately, much of American history has been framed by narratives of violence and dispossession, and many educational institutions choose to continue to silence the voice of the oppressed. Today we remember what took place in Greenwood and honor those that were lost in such horrific acts.

For those interested in delving deeper into the history of the Tulsa Race Massacre and the resilience of the Greenwood community, we've compiled a list of resources that offer additional insights, perspectives, and avenues for exploration.We encourage readers to explore these resources to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the events of 1921 and their lasting impact: