It’s important that all this be known. Yet it’s also important to recognize that what happened in that Oklahoma town was not some isolated event. No, Tulsa in 1921 is echoed by New York in 1863, Memphis and New Orleans in 1866, Wilmington, North Carolina in 1898, Atlanta in 1906, Springfield in 1908, East St. Louis in 1917, Chicago and Elaine, Arkansas, in 1919, Rosewood, Florida in 1923 — among others.
On the morning of May 30, 1921, a young black man named Dick Rowland was riding in the elevator in the Drexel Building at Third and Main with a white woman named Sarah Page. The details of what followed vary from person to person. Accounts of an incident circulated among the city’s white community during the day and became more exaggerated with each telling.
Tulsa police arrested Rowland the following day and began an investigation. An inflammatory report in the May 31 edition of the Tulsa Tribune spurred a confrontation between black and white armed mobs around the courthouse where the sheriff and his men had barricaded the top floor to protect Rowland. Shots were fired and the outnumbered African Americans began retreating to the Greenwood District.
In the early morning hours of June 1, 1921, Greenwood was looted and burned by white rioters. Governor Robertson declared martial law, and National Guard troops arrived in Tulsa. Guardsmen assisted firemen in putting out fires, took African Americans out of the hands of vigilantes and imprisoned all black Tulsans not already interned. Over 6,000 people were held at the Convention Hall and the Fairgrounds, some for as long as eight days.
Twenty-four hours after the violence erupted, it ceased. In the wake of the violence, 35 city blocks lay in charred ruins, more than 800 people were treated for injuries and contemporary reports of deaths began at 36. Historians now believe as many as 300 people may have died.
In order to understand the Tulsa Race Massacre it is important to understand the complexities of the times. Dick Rowland, Sarah Page and an unknown gunman were the sparks that ignited a long smoldering fire. Jim Crow, jealousy, white supremacy, and land lust, all played roles in leading up to the destruction and loss of life on May 31 and June 1, 1921.
We bring up these atrocities to remind self-satisfied Americans that we need to be a bit more humble when chest-thumping about being "The Greatest Country or Exceptional Country" in the world.
Our Constitution is a great document, but it is often ignored and defiled when flawed human beings disregard it because of their fears and bigotries. What happened in the Greenwood section of Tulsa was not an exception. See above for the other American cities where thriving African-American communities were destroyed based on a rumor, whim, jealousy, or just plain racial hatred.
At the same time those African-American communities were destroyed, lynchings of African-Americans were carried out across the South and other areas with impunity. Efforts to outlaw these extra-judicial killings were quashed by Southern Congressmen by means of the filibuster.
Read that again. A law that would end extra-judicial killings of Americans was blocked by the filibuster! Areas of the South celebrated lynchings as a day of fun and enjoyment for families. Souvenirs of the murdered victims' body parts were passed around for sale after the Black victims (men, women, and children) were tortured, burned, and hanged. Postcards with images of these horrendous killings were sold and eagerly bought and sent to relatives in other states.
The filibuster stopped legislation that would have stopped the extra-judicial murders of Americans.
Nearly 2,000 Black Americans Were Lynched During Reconstruction
A new report brings the number of victims of racial terror killings between 1865 and 1950 to almost 6,500
Making America face what it did to our African-American citizens is a step toward reconciliation and reparation.
28 comments:
Our nation's history is replete with examples of greatness and of horrific cruelty and barbarism. Facing up to those parts of our history for which we should feel shame and horror is not, as most of the right claims, an attack on America. No, in fact it is just the opposite, imo. One cannot heal, cannot be better without facing ones flaws and then taking steps to correct and not repeat those flaws.
The loss of the opportunity for generational wealth to the black community alone is something we should face and do whatever is possible to rectify.
Just as we should face up to our moral failures in dealing with Americans of Japanese descent, and the treatment of my own people over the course of hundreds of years, the mistreatment of gay and lesbian and trans Americans and certainly our continued abuse of African Americans, we must also look at our failures with the homeless and the chronically poor. We can do and be better and we must if we have any hope of being that shining light on a mountain to which we yearn.
Bluebullamerica, well said.
Many white Americans complain (falsely) that African Americans are freeloaders who want something for nothing, because that's the perception of that they have been systematically taught to have when history is whitewashed.
(The commenters over at Geeez often refer to Black Americans as thugs, monkeys, vermin, etc. and believe they're all freeloaders. And they're the first to say we have to move on, and how lucky African-Americans are to have been born in this country. Their racism is appalling!)
Actual history (the truth) has proved over and over that when African American communities are thriving and self sufficient, they draw resentment from those same whites who feel that no black person should be doing economically better that they are, even if they created their wealth from their own hard work. And yes, that's what many of the lynchings were really about. Rosewood, Florida is another historical incident that needs to be taught in order to expose these patterns of violence against black people who were simply living their lives and minding their own business.
As you pointed out, it was not just the African-American communities that were destroyed, but the lives of our Native Americans as well as their lands were stolen from them, and they were force-marched to distant and hostile environments. See "Trail of Tears" for one example.
The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 suspended Chinese immigration for ten years and declared Chinese immigrants ineligible for naturalization. President Chester A. Arthur signed it into law on May 6, 1882
Even as they struggled to find work, Chinese immigrants were also fighting for their lives. During their first few decades in the United States, they endured an epidemic of violent racist attacks, a campaign of persecution and murder that today seems shocking.
IMO, Americans who refuse to face their history of racism perpetuate it. Facing up to what we've done to non-white Americans doesn't take away from all the good that America has accomplished. Doing so would show ourselves, and those who were denied equal protection under our Constitution, that we can admit to our transgressions and become worthy of the ideals this country was founded on.
Those who complain endlessly about learning of our shameful past are condemned to repeat it. Or as William Falkner put it: "The past is never dead. It's not even past,"
What is important is to begin by recognizing and then acknowledging the truth of our racist past. Then, putting it aside, to focus on the present and being mindful of reality as it truly is and not on that we've been conditioned to believe.
It is a very tall order. But it can be accomplised. By those who actively and with dedicated effort seek it out.
"a bit more humble" is one of great understatements of all time.
It seems to be part of the American character to "forget" the truth of their violent behavior. How we stole this land and committed genocide against the native people who had been living here for thousands of years. How we created a nation based on slavery. How our "great" founders declared women as non-citizens. How murder in our society has been our behavior from the beginning till today.
I, for one, cannot get all wrapped up in patriotism when I remember these truths, especially during national holidays like the upcoming 4th of July. Our celebrations should be tempered by an effort to change our violent ways, which we refuse to do. I do not hate America, but I cry when I see Americans wrapping themselves in the flag and declaring how great they are.
Jerry,
I understand exactly what you're saying and I agree with much of it. However, I think we shouldn't forget that we as Americans have also done many great things for people. Liberating France, Italy and ending the Holocaust, Welcoming, though not always graciously, immigrants from around the globe who sought refuge from strife, famine, wars and oppression. We also, slowly, very very slowly have evolved some in that we have expanded freedoms to our own people. No where near enough yet, but at least some of the freedoms that should be granted without pause.
Right now, many freedoms are under assault by the GQP. Women's choice, voting rights, the right to protest, trans and gay rights, obsessive and oppressive policing, and the basic tenants of "every man created equal" when the rich and powerful get soft treatment, if any, and the rest of us can expect harsh treatment. Yes, we still have a very long way to go, but it's okay to acknowledge the good along the way, in my opinion.
I'll still put up my flag, I'll still salute it and I'll still fill with pride when I hear our national anthem, but I'll also still fight for us to be better and to never ignore our awful crimes along the way.
Radical white conservatives admit the existence of racism, (albeit THEY are the victims) but denounce any historical accounting of it. Especially by Black people, who they must see as evil Marxists. (Not that they are advocating a one party Marxist state, or government ownership of all means of production and distribution, aka real Marxism.)
That has always been a touchy subject for conservative white people. They prefer to just play their ubiquitous "Red card".
Could it be racism isn't racism to racists?
This has to be the most ANTI-WHITE, ANTI-AMERICAN thing that I have ever read
I guess that only shows that you have perfected the art of Total Unawareness. Congrats on that IMHO.
^ I rest my case.
To IMHO,
The report of a massacre of hundreds of African-Americans and the destruction of their property by white Oklahomans IS totally anti-American. Those who perpetrated that disaster should have been exiled to some savage place where they'd never be able to do such an evil thing again.
You are the problem in America. People who refuse to face our darkest moments.
Wake up Shaw, your party is collapsing right in front of your eyes, and they are taking the whole country down with them!
For heavens sake! Can't you see it?
IMHO, Do you actually live in America?
President Biden has a 61% approval rating from the American people. So, no, the Democratic Party is not "collapsing" in any way. Trump never got over 50% approval from the American people even on the day after his inauguration. Trump spent his presidency in the low 40s approval, which means A MAJORITY OF AMERICANS DID NOT LIKE WHAT HE WAS DOING AS POTUS.
Your hysterical post is false. I look at reality; you look at delusions.
Trump speaking in South Carolina this weekend repeated his delusion that he would be "reinstated" in the presidency this summer -- August.
There is NO SUCH CLAUSE in the US Constitution for "reinstatement." Trump is in mental decline, and his belief in "reinstatement" is proof of that sad fact.
Claiming he will be "reinstated" is the most unAmerican, anti-American, anti-democratic, and lawless thing ever said by a FORMER POTUS, and THAT! not Joe Biden or Kamala Harris, is what will destroy America.
Can't you see it?
IMHO is a radicalized true believer. He's only regurgitating the propaganda that is fed to him by his radical Right media and politicians. He can't think for himself or explain anything, because he's been thoroughly indoctrinated.
The Trump Cult and his Qanon sub-cult have shown us what they can never comprehend.
Ignorance isn't ignorance to the ignorant.
Racism isn't racism to the racist.
Treason isn't treason to the traitor.
A cult isn't a cult to the cult.
And no, they can't see it. They never will.
They see only what their authoritarian cult leader wants them to see, as their Dear Leader put it, “Just remember, what you are seeing and what you are reading is not what's happening.”
It's as if "1984" has become the Republican guide book to power.
“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”
Orwell understood how the cult of fascism draws authoritarians, racists and ignorant dupes to radical extremism. "A generation of the unteachable is hanging upon us like a necklace of corpses."
Dave Dubya, In today's new post, I've quoted James Randi, who famously said "The first thing a cult does is tell you everyone else is lying."
Trump and his GQP cultists are suffering from a mass psychosis, IMO, and no amount of facts, reality can break through.
This is no different from what happened in Germany and Italy when citizens of those countries followed charismatic demagogues and frauds to their countries' destruction.
So, the economy roaring back to life, the plague ebbing away, vaccines to go around, our foreign allies once again depending on and trusting our word, home prices the highest ever, the stock market doing well and a president with high popularity -- gee, IMHO, if those are 'crumbling' times, let's keep em! Meanwhile, you sound about as stupid as your messiah -- King Clorox.
Where did you get ANY OF THAT NONSENSE FROM
Nobody in their right mind would think that ANY OF THST is true!
Turtle Soup
I listened to two people who lived through it give testimony in Congress, and I read actual reports of what happened.
"Nobody in their right mind would think that ANY OF THST is true!"
What is THST? Turtle Soup sounds like an illiterate Qanon nut.
A cult isn't a cult to the cult. They prove it all the time.
No Matt what the Liberal Putz above said;
In any event, this was no "massacre." A "massacre" is an unprovoked attack on UN-armed people, resulting is massive deaths. Here we had dueling mobs in which the larger, better armed white mob prevailed, then committed a little mayhem for dessert. Not a happy course of action, but not a massacre either.
And of course we now have the usual race hustlers trying to squeeze money from the government for events that the government had nothing to do with, and which impacted relatively few people (a couple dozen) in the actual even
Of Course you did!
Ms Shaw, Popularity and competence are not necessarily compatible. Joey is a nice guy who is asleep at the wheel. Cruella is not a nice person who is waiting for the nice guy to keel over, that's why she stands so close to him. She has stayed away from anything joey has assigned her to because when she fails at it it will be used against her.
The economy is roaring back, just look how well it would do if the gooberment would get out of the way. Worker participation is very weak because why work when unemployment pays more. Prices of everything is increasing hurting the very people the democrats say they are for. The administration cancels the US pipeline expansion but gives russia the go ahead and now we have flip flop falsi gtting caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Look at what European countries thing of basement joe. Not favorable.
Blueballs, you do realize that it was your evil villain who is responsible for the rapid development and production of the vaccine by removing a lot of the bureaucracy in it's development.
Turtle Soup
No one by the name of "Matt" is on this thread. Who are you referring to?
There were no "dueling mobs." The Greenwood section of Tulsa was destroyed by a mob of white supremacists. Period.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary's definition of "massacre:"
noun
an indiscriminate and brutal slaughter of people.
verb
deliberately and violently kill (a large number of people).
No white businesses were destroyed, and AFAIK, no white women or children died in the massacre, but black women and children did.
"What is known is that 35 square blocks were burned down and destroyed and that many massacre survivors would flee the city in order to relocate elsewhere in the United States. Despite these catastrophic losses of life and property, no one was ever charged in relation to the murders or the destruction of homes and businesses based in Greenwood.
“We still don't know how many people died during the massacre,” said Ellsworth, noting that a mass grave for some of the victims was just discovered last October."
[snip]
"...some white Tulsans initially boasted of their role in the violence — some sold postcards depicting the destruction — everything soon disappeared as Tulsa officials realized the potential harm to the city’s reputation.
“The mayor and other politicians and the Chamber of Commerce and other people who ran the town realized that the massacre was this horrible public relations problem,” said Ellsworth. So they determined they’d “tamp it down.”
The editorial openly calling for lynching was torn out of the archives before the paper was transferred to microfilm in the 1930s.
“There's evidence that the police chief in the week after the massacre sent his officers to all the white photography studios in town to confiscate any riot photos and negatives,” said Ellsworth. This ensured any souvenir postcards would not be recreated. “So very quickly the riot stopped being mentioned in either of Tulsa's daily white newspapers. They haven't talked about it for nearly 50 years. They go out of their way to never mention it.”
****************************
According to the State Department of Education, it has required the topic in Oklahoma history classes since 2000 and U.S. history classes since 2004, and the incident has been included in Oklahoma history books since 2009.
In November 2018, the 1921 Race Riot Commission was officially renamed the 1921 Race Massacre Commission.
“Although the dialogue about the reasons and effects of the terms riot vs. massacre are very important and encouraged," said Oklahoma State Senator Kevin Matthews, "the feelings and interpretation of those who experienced this devastation as well as current area residents and historical scholars have led us to more appropriately change the name to the 1921 Race Massacre Commission. https://www.history.com/topics/roaring-twenties/tulsa-race-massacre”
Whomever "Turtle Soup" is, he/she, like a good little Trump cultist white supremacist terms a destruction of an entire town and the killing of men, women, and children "a little mayhem for dessert. Not a happy course of action, but not a massacre either."
Well the people of Tulsa disagree with you, "Turtle Soup," and have officially recognized what happened in Greenwood Oklahoma as a MASSACRE.
And, frankly, they don't give a flying donut what you believe or think.
A curious person would wonder what motivates people like Turtle Soup to deny, minimize, or rewrite the horrible racist massacre.
Since racism isn't racism to racists, whitewashing isn't whitewashing to white whitewashers.
"During the Trump years, we slid backwards. The 9/11 Commission found a failure of agencies to detect and prevent the plot. On January 6th, the same thing happened. Under Trump. "The result was chaos. The report details how officers on the front lines suffered chemical burns, brain injuries and broken bones, among other injuries, after fighting the rioters, who quickly overwhelmed them and broke into the building. Officers told the Senate investigators that they were left with no leadership or direction when command systems broke down."
So here's a report on Jan. 6 -- "no leadership or direction..." during the first attack BY TRUMPERS -- AMERICANS! in over 100+ years on the US Capitol, and skudrunner comes here every day to tell whomever will listen to him that Biden and Harris are incompetent evil people.
This, my friends, is a perfect example of a cult member. Skud will deny it and claim he "independent" and doesn't belong to any party, but every week he lands here to denigrate the Democrats and tell us how fabulous Trump's policies were.
Trump's "policies" helped his armed thugs to attack the US Capitol -- a treasons act. But in skud's world, it is Biden and Harris who are the badies!
Darwin help us!!!
Regurgitating cult dogma and parroting radical Right media counts as "thought" for the cult.
Their brains can't quite process the fact that wages are so low, unemployment benefits keep more food on their table.
Their brains are incapable of rational, fact based, good faith discourse, but they easily spew all the ad hominem talking points of Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and the fascists at Newsmax and OAN.
And Pfizer developed their vaccine in Germany, no thanks to Trump. Not that facts matter to a cult.
Dave Dubya Fact do not matter to a cult. As James Randi said, the first thing a cult does is tell you everyone is lying. Trump himself told his cultists not to believe anything they read or see. Also, he said he was the only one who could save America.
And those words from his own mouth didn't startle his listeners into looking back in the history of demagogues, authoritarians, strongmen, and fascists to see what happens when they attain power.
Trump got his armed thugs to attack the US Capitol and hunt down Pence to hang him, and the Trumpublicans don't want to find out who was behind this treasonous act.
IMHO, I think we've already lost our republic. Look at the people who've blocked the chance to investigate. They're going to be back in power very soon. And that will put the last nail in the coffin of American democracy.
Unfortunately Shaw that is all to true.
Yes they will be back in power soon, and, we can kiss democracy goodbye.
It'll be hello authoritarianism and on wipth Trumpism.
The dirty filthy bastards.
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