Prompt Cast
The Tulsa Race Riots of 1921: A Tragic History of Destruction and Resilience
TLDR The Tulsa Race Riots of 1921 saw the destruction of the affluent all-Black Greenwood district, known as "Black Wall Street," by white rioters, resulting in hundreds of deaths and mass destruction. Despite the devastation, the Greenwood community managed to rebuild and thrive, sparking ongoing efforts for reconciliation and memorialization.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
The Tulsa 'Race Riots' of 1921 were a buried and overlooked blemish in the history of the United States until recently brought to attention by the Watchmen TV series.
05:09
The Greenwood district in Tulsa, Oklahoma was an affluent all-Black community in the early 20th century, known as "Black Wall Street," with 600 businesses and 15 Black millionaires, but faced segregation and discrimination under Jim Crow laws.
10:07
The Greenwood district in Tulsa, Oklahoma was a covenant-restricted community where Black people owned land, businesses, and circulated their own currency due to segregation and discrimination under Jim Crow laws, leading to its flourishing despite the racial tensions and violence that occurred throughout the country during that time.
15:08
On May 30th, 1921, Dick Roland, a black man, entered an elevator in Tulsa and either flirted with or used the restroom, leading to a scuffle with Sarah Page, a white elevator operator, who then accused him of assault.
19:59
The Tulsa Tribune ran an article with an inflammatory headline about a black man assaulting a white girl in an elevator, which led to the formation of a white crowd and heightened tensions.
24:47
The white crowd at the courthouse was inflamed by the local newspaper to demand the lynching of Dick Rowland, but a group of World War I veterans from Greenwood intervened to prevent it, resulting in a confrontation that escalated into a full-on war scene.
29:36
The white rioters break into hardware stores and loot businesses to get weapons, while Sheriff McCullough deputizes them and encourages them to attack Greenwood, resulting in a revenge massacre rather than a race riot.
34:23
The white terrorists burned down Greenwood, destroying 35 blocks of buildings, killing hundreds of people, and leaving thousands homeless, who were then detained at the fairgrounds by the National Guard.
39:27
Despite the destruction and lack of support from the county commission, the Greenwood community managed to rebuild and became even more prosperous and affluent than before, although the true number of casualties will never be known due to the cover-up and disposal of bodies in mass graves and other locations.
44:03
The bill for reparations and the creation of the Tulsa Race Riot Commission was introduced in 1997, but the report released in 2001 did not result in any reparations, and the case against Dick Roland was dismissed, leaving little information about him, but the release of "Watchman" has brought attention to the story and there are still efforts to reconcile and memorialize the events of the Tulsa Massacre.
48:41
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Categories:
Society & Culture
