I was blessed to have a very good education when it comes to the Black history that has been part of American history since before the founding of what is now the United States. No thanks to my schools, of course; I give credit to my parents. My parents hated the use of the term “race riot,” which was often used to obfuscate the murder and massacre of Black people in this nation. My dad especially hated the term, since he was actually charged with “inciting a riot” during World War II when, as a Tuskegee Airman in uniform, he was attacked and beaten nearly to death by a crowd of white racists. 

It was with that framing in mind that I wrote about the 1921 attack on Tulsa’s Black Wall Street four years ago, noting that it was not a “race riot,” it was a massacre. That was not my first telling of the tale, nor will it be my last. One of the first stories I wrote here at Daily Kos in 2008 was also about the massacre; I’ve never called it a riot and won’t.

Blaming Black folks for our own deaths at the hands of white folks—be they police, or citizen vigilantes, killing us en masse or in individual lynching picnics, has gone on far too long. The good news? Since my last effort to address this tragedy, a quick search indicates that headlines and story content have actually shifted in the past few years, particularly after the HBO series Watchmen raised the profile of this well-hidden bit of racist American history. “Riot” has been eliminated in most headlines and text; “massacre” is now the standard descriptor. It’s a start. Finally, we see the faces and hear the words of survivors like Mrs. Viola Fletcher, 107, who testified before Congress this month, and about whom Marissa Higgins wrote, “If you watch one thing today, make sure it’s these testimonies from Tulsa massacre survivors.”

Hand in hand with the testimony of survivors, Georgia Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson introduced reparations legislation, noting that “the victims of this atrocity have been denied justice far too long.”

For this 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre, I’m reposting my 2017 story, with updates.

The term “race riot” is used a lot to mask the history of Black Americans being massacred by rampaging whites. The ”Tulsa race riot,” as it is most often referred, is no exception.

Ebony magazine gave a more accurate depiction in “The Destruction of Black Wall Street,” written in 2013, with this potent lede: “The events that destroyed a thriving Black Oklahoma community 92 years ago were much more than a ‘race riot.’”

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It was pure envy, and a vow to put progressive, high-achieving African Americans in their place that would cause the demise of the Black Mecca many called “Little Africa,” and its destruction began the way much terrorism, violence, and dispossession against African Americans did during that era.  A young white woman accused a young Black man of attempted sexual assault, which gave local mobs and white men acting as police just cause to invade the unsuspecting community.

On the malevolent and horrifying attack, Linda Christenson writes the following for the Zinn Education Project:

During the night and day of the riot, deputized whites killed more than 300 African Americans. They looted and burned to the ground 40 square blocks of 1,265 African American homes, including hospitals, schools, and churches, and destroyed 150 businesses. White deputies and members of the National Guard arrested and detained 6,000 black Tulsans who were released only upon being vouched for by a white employer or other white citizen. Nine thousand African Americans were left homeless and lived in tents well into the winter of 1921.

Given the uptick in racist violence under Donald Trump and the Republicans, this is a reminder that racist violence in the U.S. is not new. When people refer to “poor blacks,” one must examine what happens to black people when we succeed, against the odds.

When people assume that economic equality will wipe out racism, I point to this history.

They made war on us:

This spoken word piece by Brother Arthur says it all.

YouTube Video

Remember. Resist.

While writing this, I saw news that the Tulsa commission had cancelled the “Remember & Rise” event, scheduled on the anniversary and to be headlined by John Legend and Stacey Abrams. President Joe Biden’s trip to Tulsa on June 1 is still scheduled.

Join me in comments to discuss this history, as well as events and actions as we move forward.