'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wAARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMF/8QAHhAAAgEEAwEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIEAAMGERMhMQX/xAAVAQEBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEBf/EAB4RAAAGAgMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEERLBISJB/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwDfxjJ5+RRPqGbyi09wcDIRtOgCoBPg1vv3Zqd2VHa67W4UQoWJUkvsilKpwZDmVX5swGRHaQnqmudEP//Z'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 is considered one of the darkest chapters in American history, marked by the systematic annihilation of a Black community in Greenwood, Tulsa, Oklahoma. In the course of this horrendous white-on-Black coordinated attack, an entire neighborhood was demolished.
A newly released Department of Justice (DOJ) report on the devastating legacy of this atrocity brings fresh insights into the incident. The 126-page report from the DOJ released this week offers insight into the systematic nature of the Tulsa race Massacre. The investigation found evidence of a coordinated, military-style attack, contrary to earlier claims that the violence was spontaneous.
According to the reports by United Press International, Law enforcement didn’t just neglect to protect the residents of Greenwood, it played a part in the destruction, disarming Black residents and assisting the white mob.
The DOJ’s investigation was carried out under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Act, a law designed to investigate racially motivated crimes from the civil rights era. Though the report offers a clear historical record, the result was announced stating that no legal actions are feasible today.
Damario Solomon-Simmons, an attorney for the last two living survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, said he was disappointed at how the DOJ dealt with the report.
He criticized the lack of communication, saying that neither his legal team nor the survivors received notice of the release of the report or a related meeting at Tulsa’s Historic Vernon AME Church.
He was also particularly disappointed with the fact that no compensation or legal action would be taken due to the expiration of the statute of limitations and the lack of surviving perpetrators or witnesses.
A look back into the past to understand what happened during the Tulsa race Massacre
The Tulsa Race Massacre took place over two days as tensions in the racially segregated city of Tulsa reached a tragic climax. The violence was ignited by accusations that a 19-year-old Black man, Dick Rowland, had attacked a white woman inside an elevator.
These baseless accusations were sensationalized by a local newspaper, which inflamed a crowd of white residents to gather outside the courthouse demanding Rowland’s lynching. Black veterans of the Greenwood district came to protect Rowland, intensifying the tension (as per ABC News).
Trending
According to reports online, Tulsa police deputized hundreds of white residents, many of them drunk and agitated for violence. By The morning of June 1, 1921, 35 city blocks in the thriving Black community known as “Black Wall Street” had been looted, burned, and destroyed.
About 300 Black residents lost their lives and thousands were left homeless. The Survivors were supposedly rounded up in makeshift camps, where their homes and belongings were looted.
Reply
