Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

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Thursday, June 18, 2020

The Greenwood Massacre




Greenwood, 1921: 

One of the worst race massacres in American historyIn 1921, a thriving black neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, burned, leaving hundreds dead.






Smoke rises north of Greenwood Avenue from Hartford Avenue, in Tulsa, Okla. on June 1, 1921. Images from The University of Tulsa's McFarlin Library archives show scenes from the Tulsa race massacre of 1921 when a white mob destroyed the 35-block "Black Wall Street" - a thriving business district in Tulsa. The number of deaths has never been confirmed, but estimates vary from about three dozen to 300 or more. The University of Tulsa, McFarlin Library Archives





During the Tulsa Race Massacre (also known as the Tulsa Race Riot), which occurred over 18 hours on May 31-June 1, 1921, a white mob attacked residents, homes and businesses in the predominantly black Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. 

The event remains one of the worst incidents of racial violence in U.S. history, and one of the least-known: News reports were largely squelched, despite the fact that hundreds of people were killed and thousands left homeless. 



Gov. Stitt says he, Sen. Lankford now recommending Trump not visit Greenwood District

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

It is truly amazing to me how this was hushed up. I only recently became aware of it. On 60 Minutes this past Sunday they had a segment on it. Scott Pelley was talking to a group of Black people from Oklahoma. One gentleman was talking about a history course he took in college (now I can't remember if it was in the 80s or 90s) where the college professor was talking about the Greenwood Massacre. He said he raised his hand and told the professor that this cannot be true--that he was born and raised in Tulsa and never heard about this massacre before...


Possumlady

Shaw Kenawe said...

Possumlady, I read about it years ago in Howard Zinn's "A People's History of America."

I never heard about it in school either.

White America is very good about covering up the atrocities they executed on African-Americans. This massacre was perpetrated on a thriving community that minded its own business and was suceeding. White people destroyed it.

Then we have the ignorant white people today who claim African-Americans are lazy and shiftless. They know nothing about what was done to so many communities like Greenwood, how the denied so many African-Americans their citizenship rights which would have enabled them to join the middle class and thrive like their white neighbors.

Those whites would rather remain ignorant and be able to look down their noses and pretend they know what is best for a culture that their ancestors tried to destroy at every chance they had.

This is all coming out now. And it's about time.

Doctor Tomato said...

Re your banner about DACA. Imagine being such a loathsome piece of shit that the Supreme Court wants no part of your racist scheme to kill DACA.

#DumpTrump

Dave Miller said...

Like all of you, I was never taught about Tulsa, learning about it much later in life, in spite of being around my wife's family for over 40 years. Many African Americans, knowing for years bringing up stuff like Tulsa and other injustices, just lived with whatever happened.

Refused service in a restaurant? What good is fighting gonna do my father in law would ask. When it dawns on you that the restaurant was seating the light skinned people in one area and the darker skinned people in your group in another area because they can't believe you are together, what are you gonna do? You're in the South. Or the north, it didn't matter.

And on and on it goes...

How many heard of the Axe Handle massacre? And how many more have there been?

My wife's family has experienced it all. A family of war heroes and soldiers, the first black fire captain in Los Angeles, one of the first black cops in Los Angeles, pastors, teachers, lawyers, Ivy League grads and laborers. Truly people who did everything right, trying to live the American dream. And yet victims of regular everyday racism.

Until we get responses that don't include stuff like "Really?" and "Yes... but", we'll never get past this stuff.

Les Carpenter said...

What has been happening over the past few weeks has highlighted the ineauities and injustices that minorities, especially black folks, have had to toil under for generations. America has an OPPOTURNITY now to usher in much needed social and cultural change.

It remains to be seen if America has the character, decency, and stamina to actually effect change that becomes part of our fabric or whether in a few short months it reverts to old habits.

I can't say I'm real hopeful the passion existing right now for change will last long enough for lasting change to occur. Given the size of the opposition to change.

Les Carpenter said...

OT - Big thumbs up for Chief Justice Roberts.

And as expected Dotard donnie goes right into his whine and tweet storm.

The "winner" sure is losing a lot of late. A Very Good Thing.

Maybe, Just MAYBE, a barbinger of what's to come on Nov. 3'rd.

skudrunner said...

Yes the supreme's pushed the can down the road so congress can do nothing to make it law. This was a opportunity for obama to do something but instead he just made a executive action instead of pushing for a bill. It has been thrown in the lap of congress and they just choose to ignore it. Now we will have biden kick it down the road further.

Rev, if you paid for your schooling and took history you should demand a refund. Everyone I know knew about the black wall street riots but we went to good public schools

Shaw Kenawe said...

skudrunner, as usual, you have a burning need to blame President Obama. You conveniently forget, for the gazillionth time that the Senate is needed to pass legislation:

"The House was majority Democratic during the first two years of Barack Obama’s presidency. For a lie to prosper, as it were, there needs to be a shred of truth woven inside the lie that Mr. Obama has TWO YEARS OF BOTH HOUSES. It is absolutely true that from 2009-2011, Democrats and President Obama had “total control” of the House of Representatives.


But legislation does not become law without the Senate.


The Senate operates with the 60-vote-requirement filibuster rule. There are 100 Senate seats, and it takes 60 Senate votes for “closure” on a piece of legislation....to bring that piece of legislation to the floor of the Senate for amendments and a final vote....that final vote is decided by a simple majority in most cases. But it takes 60 Senate votes to even have a chance of being voted upon.


“Total control”, then, of the Senate requires 60 Democratic or Republican Senators.


On January 20th, 2009, 57 Senate seats were held by Democrats with 2 Independents (Bernie Sanders and Joe Lieberman) caucusing with the Democrats...which gave Democrats 59 mostly-reliable Democratic votes in the Senate, one shy of filibuster-proof “total control.” Republicans held 41 seats.


The 59 number in January, 2009 included Ted Kennedy and Al Franken. Kennedy had a seizure during an Obama inaugural luncheon and never returned to vote in the Senate.....and Al Franken was not officially seated until July 7th, 2009 (hotly contested recount demanded by Norm Coleman.)


“Total control” of Congress by Democrats lasted all of 4 months. From September 24, 2009 through February 4, 2010...at which point Scott Brown, a Republican, was sworn in to replace Kennedy’s Massachusetts seat."
SOURCE



Never forget that on the evening of Mr. Obama's inauguration, a group of influential GOP legislators, and others got together and vowed to NEVER work with Mr. Obama.

Here’s John Boehner, when he was the future Speaker of the House, offering his plans for Obama’s agenda: “We're going to do everything — and I mean everything we can do — to kill it, stop it, slow it down, whatever we can.”

So, again you're trying to place blame on Mr. Obama when clearly the GOP and their goons did everything in their power to obstruct and sabotage anything Mr. Obama proposed.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Meanwhile, skud, you've said nothing about John Bolton's claims about what Trump did (he took scrupulous and detailed notes while Trump's National Security Advisor.)He says in his book that Trump tried to get the Communist head of China, Xi, to help him win re-election.

Imagine if the NSA from Mr. Obama's administration wrote that in his/her book! Can you imagine what your pals over at Geeez would have said? They'd have choked on their tongues talking about an American president asking a Communist to help him get re-elected! What do your pals over there have to say about it? *crickets* And what do they say about Trump telling Xi that it is the "right thing to do" in putting religious minorities in detention camps?

No other president in our history ever said or did such traitorous things as Trump has, and yet every time you come here, you try to blame President Obama for something or other while ignoring what Trump has done.

It's horrible and shows what a cult does to protect its cult leader. The Geeezers are cultists, and they support and admire a man who advocates putting religious minorities in camps and who conspired with a Communist leader to help him get re-elected.

Maybe "conspired" is too strong, but he most certainly asked for help from the Communist, Xi.

What do you and your pals have to say about that? Probably nothing.

Silence means complicity. The Geeezers and other Trump supporters are okay with asking a Communist leader to interfere in an American election and they're okay with putting religious minorities in detention camps. Check.

If you and they say nothing, that means you are complicit.

skudrunner said...

You keep saying I say it was obama's fault for things which is untrue. How can you blame anything on someone who did nothing for the majority of the American people.

I understand how congress works and I also understand that they were asked to come up with a bill to make comprehensive immigration reform a law and they did nothing. GW tried it and he was blocked by thr republicans, obama's solution was to issue a temporary executive order and trump did not follow through on his request. I am not blaming the democrats or the republicans because they are both worthless and only interested in keeping their job. Taking a stance on a controversial issue may cause them distress and we certainly don't want that.

Trump's behavior is in line with his morals, none. Remember when someone was caught on a hot mic promising a russian favors after an election. Politics is a dirty game and running the country with career politicians is stupid but that is where we are.

Stay Safe
NALM

Shaw Kenawe said...

PS: Mattis Aide Backs Up Bolton: Trump Said Journalists Deserve To Be Executed

So let's recap, just recently we've learned that:

Trump asked the Chinese Communist leader to help him get re-elected;

Trump told the Chinese Communist leader that it is the "right thing to do" to put religious minorities in detention camps; and

Trump said journalists deserved to be executed.

All of that is certainly a tad bit worse than misspeaking and saying there are 57 states, n'est pas?

skudrunner said...

I do think you exaggerated on your statements but I do realize that is OK because of your political position. I am sure you are OK with firing an editor because they ran a conservative opinion or lambasting a college coach because he wore a T shirt from a conservative site.

BTW, your hero did infer he would help a communist regime only he did it on a live mic.

Shaw Kenawe said...

skud: "BTW, your hero did infer he would help a communist regime only he did it on a live mic."

This is the exact transcript below in bold. There's not one word of "helping the Communist regime" in it.

But I'm getting used to Trumpers lying about things that Mr. Obama said and did.

Meanwhile, you said nothing about Trump and Xi and asking for help in his re-election, nothing about an American president saying detention camps for religious minorities are a good idea, and nothing about wanting to execute journalists.

So your Trump cultist bonafides are perfect.


March 26, 2012

President Obama found his private moment of political candor caught by a live microphone on Monday as he told President Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia that he would have “more flexibility” to negotiate on the delicate issue of missile defense after the November election, which Mr. Obama apparently feels confident he will win.

Mr. Obama’s Republican adversaries seized on the comment, which followed a meeting between Mr. Obama and Mr. Medvedev in Seoul, South Korea, where both had struggled to find common ground amid strong objections in Russia to the American plans for a missile defense system based in Europe.

As a pool of television journalists gathered for a news conference on the leaders’ meeting, Mr. Obama leaned in to deliver private assurances to Mr. Medvedev. But speaking inadvertently into an open microphone, he offered a frank assessment of the difficulty of reaching a deal — on this or any other subject — in an election year.

“On all these issues, but particularly missile defense, this can be solved, but it’s important for him to give me space,” Mr. Obama could be heard saying to Mr. Medvedev, according a reporter from ABC News, who was traveling with the president.

“Yeah, I understand,” the departing Russian president said. “I understand your message about space. Space for you ... .”

Mr. Obama then elaborated in a portion of the exchange picked up by the cameras: “This is my last election. After my election I have more flexibility.”

“I understand. I will transmit this information to Vladimir,” Mr. Medvedev said, referring to Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin, who just won an election to succeed Mr. Medvedev.

The unscripted remarks, which were broadcast by the television networks and raced around the Internet, seemed to suggest that Mr. Obama was not worried about getting re-elected.