Greenwood Historic District Walking Tour - Tulsa Race Massacre 1921On May 31st and June 1st, 1921, a white mob attacked the predominantly black neighborhood of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, killing more than three hundred residents, destroying property, and burning more than a thousand homes and businesses to the ground. The riot spawned from an accusation that on May 30, 1921, Dick Ronald, a nineteen-year-old African American shoe shiner, had attempted to assault a seventeen-year-old white girl, Sarah Page, in the elevator of the Drexel Building. It is not known for sure what took place in the Drexel Building; however, the general narrative states that “Dick Roland boarded an elevator on the third floor of the building, and before the doors opened on the ground floor, the white operator, Sarah Page, was screaming.” Rowland fled the scene; onlookers called the police and the next morning Dick Rowland was arrested and taken to the city jail/courthouse at 15 W. Second Street.
After Dick Rowland’s arrest, rumors of what had allegedly happened on the elevator circulated through the community and a front-page news story in the Tulsa Tribune reported that police “Nab Negro for Attacking Girl in an Elevator.” By evening on the same day, an angry white mob gathered outside the jail, demanding that the Sheriff, Willard McCullough, turn over Rowland. The sheriff refused and a group of around 75 black men went to the courthouse to guard Rowland. They were met by almost 1,500 white men at the courthouse carrying weapons. The outnumbered group of Black men withdrew to Greenwood. Greenwood was a vibrant town of several thousand people stretching over thirty-five square blocks. It was home to one of the country's most financially successful African American communities, earning it the nickname "Black Wall Street."
In as little as twenty-four hours, a group of white Tulsans, some of whom had been deputized and given weapons by city officials, marched into the Greenwood District. They looted and burned African American owned homes and businesses. Properties along Archer Street were the first targeted buildings. When the Tulsa Fire Department tried to put out the flames, the angry rioters restricted them at gunpoint. By 5:00 a.m. on June 1st, more than twenty-eight homes and businesses, including the Midway Hotel, had been destroyed.
The massacre destroyed a vibrant community and drove fear into the hearts of Black people across the country. Many Black residents of Greenwood were left without a place to live. For up to a year, thousands of Black people who once owned homes and businesses slept in detention facilities at the fairgrounds. Authorities forced them to stand in long lines for food, water, and clothing. Black men from Greenwood were mandated to work for the Red Cross or the Oklahoma National Guard. In order to leave the detention camps, Black Tulsans had to wear identification tags and police protection cards. These tags were only to be issued if the Black Tulsan was "vouched" for by a white employer. Black Tulsans who could not get a job or a white employer to vouch for them remained in the camps.
After the massacre, many people who owned homes and businesses with insurance sought reimbursement for their losses. Nevertheless, all insurance claims by African Americans were rejected because the insurance did not include coverage for damage caused by a "riot." The mob burned thirty-five blocks of Tulsa to the ground with estimated damages amounting to “$1.8 million, which is almost $25 million” dollars today. According to information provided by the Red Cross, “the fatalities ranged from 55 to 300,” and the search for mass graves is still ongoing. While the Greenwood residents faced many injustices, they worked together to revive their community and by the end of 1921 “ Greenwood residents had rebuilt more than 800 structures in the neighborhood.” Even so, the massacre led to significant financial loss manifesting in home ownership and economic status decline that is still being felt by the Back population in Tulsa and across the United States. This history tour is about what happened in The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 and how Black Tulsans worked together to rebuild Greenwood.
Citations
“Research Guides: Tulsa Race Massacre: Topics in Chronicling America: Introduction.” Introduction - Tulsa Race Massacre: Topics in Chronicling America - Research Guides at Library of Congress, 20 July 2022, guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-tulsa-race-riots/introduction.
Tulsa Race Massacre, Available Online. (2019, June 25). The Library of Congress. Retrieved November 8, 2022, from https://www.loc.gov/search/?in=&q=tulsa+race+massacre&new=true
Wesson, Stephen. “Tulsa’s Greenwood District: Exploring the Impact of the Tulsa Race Massacre | Teaching With the Library of Congress.” Tulsa’s Greenwood District: Exploring the Impact of the Tulsa Race Massacre | Teaching With the Library of Congress, 27 May 2021, blogs.loc.gov/teachers/2021/05/tulsas-greenwood-district-exploring-the-impact-of-the-tulsa-race-massacre.
