Never Forget Tulsa

Today, May 31, 2015, marks the 94th anniversary of the destruction of Greenwood; the African American suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma reportedly destroyed by a mob of some 10,000. 

Living in Tulsa and going to North Tulsa (the Black side of town known as Greenwood) to church and to get my haircut, I could never fathom North Tulsa being anything but what it truly was: A desolate, lifeless area that sorely needed some sort of economic development in the worse kind of way. A far cry from the hustle, bustle, and wealth of South Tulsa and the other surrounding Tulsa communities. 

So, imagine my surprise (and bewilderment) when I heard people (especially the old folks) talk about and compare Greenwood to the glitz and glamour of Beverly Hills, California. 

What? I kept asking myself as I looked at the surrounding small, unassuming, dilapidated houses and buildings. "Are they kidding me?" I asked myself under bated breath with an extremely raised brow. Because never in a million years could I (or anyone else for that matter that didn't know Tulsa's history) imagine that the modern-day Greenwood I was peering out into could have EVER been anywhere near the likes of any part of Beverly Hills. But in 1921, it truly was the African American version—Negro Wall Street as it was affectionately called due to its tremendous wealth and prosperity.

An unknown author stated: "In the North, whites don't care how high you climb as long as you don't get too close. In the South, whites don't care how close you get as long as you don't climb too high." And that's exactly what Greenwood had done—climbed too high. It was the wealthiest Black community in the United States (primarily as a result of the oil boom) and was loathed and hated because of it. Accounts have the community boasting:

• 15 Grocery Stores
•   2 News Papers
•   2 Public School Systems
•   4 Drug Stores
•   2 Movie Theaters
• A Bus system
• A Central Business District along the Greenwood corridor touting legal, medical and various professional offices, retail shops, and hotels.

The vibrant community coming to an abrupt end after a white female accused a 19-year-old Black male of rape—the accusation the catalyst for the days-long rioting (and massacre) that would decimate the prosperous African American community. 

On May 31, 1921, jealousy, hostility, and Tulsa's racially charged atmosphere came to a boiling point when the deadliest race riot in the United States began, and Greenwood burned to the ground. The NAACP account from Walter White's "The Eruption of Tulsa": An NAACP official investigates the Tulsa Race Riot, published in the Nation on June 29, 1921, chronicles the history of what led up to the riot, the riot itself, and some of the atrocities committed against innocent Black civilians. Reports have the destruction (real estate and property losses) estimated at $1,800,000; which in today's (2015) dollars is estimated at close to 30 million. Of special note: None of the survivors (or their descendants) were compensated by insurance companies, the city of Tulsa, or the state of Oklahoma.

In the continual efforts to ensure we never forget Tulsa, Oprah Winfrey's network, OWN, as reported by the Tulsa World, is scheduled to produce a mini-series about the event, starring Octavia Spencer as journalist Mattie Clay (the race riots told from her perspective). 

Although we should never forget the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot—"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana—we should also not forget the scores of other racially charged riots, including:

1. Wilmington, NC Race Riot of 1898
2. Atlanta Race Riot of 1906
3. Springfield, IL (1908)
4. East St. Louis, IL (1917)
5. Red Summer Race Riots of 1919, involving 26 cities, with hundreds of deaths and thousands left homeless and wounded.
6. Rosewood, FL (1923)
7. Detroit, MI (1943)

For a visual narrative of the Tulsa Race Riots, take a look at the below two-part YouTube series by two-time Emmy award winning television and online journalist Tim Estiloz — the narratives told by the survivors and descendants of the riots.

Part 1 - Tulsa Race Riots: Survivors and Descendents Recall

Part 2 - Tulsa Race Riots: Survivors and Descendents Recall

Author R.L. Byrd
Part of the Project H.U.S.H initiative. To find out more, visit www.richardleonbyrd.com