7-1 Final Project Tulsa Massacre
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Jan 9, 2024
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Uploaded by AgentBaboon338
Lisa Cruz
HIS-100-T2220 Perspectives in History 23EW2
7-1 Final Project
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The topic I chose to research was The Tulsa Massacre. This event has created
generational issues and lingering traumas that I can strongly recognize and identify with as a
woman of color. Growing up, The Tulsa Massacre was vaguely discussed, so I felt this research
would provide me with a better understanding of what and why questions I had. The Tulsa
Massacre took place June 1, 1921, in the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma. This event
was a race-driven massacre. A white mob of looters and arsonists came together, brutally killing
residents and burning down the homes and businesses of those black residents. Many innocent
men, women, and children lost their lives during these violent attacks of hatred and racism.
I've heard stories of the Tulsa massacre, and living in society today, I have witnessed
and experienced the mistreatment of people of color. They have been violently attacked and
belittled due to the color of their skin. Racism is still a thing all these years later. So many
people are quick to react violently towards someone of color skin versus someone of fair skin,
resulting in riots all over the world: for example, the George Floyd murder took place in 2020. I
value family, community, education, and those eager to advance their education, and I highly
support black-owned businesses. It's heartbreaking that in 1921, Greenwood district was
considered the American's Black Wall Street. Brick homes throughout the neighborhood, blocks
lined with grocery stores, hotels, nightclubs, billiard halls, theaters, doctor's offices, and
churches were all eradicated within 24 hours of the start of the Tulsa massacre. I did not
witness the destruction of Greenwood firsthand, but I have been a witness to racism not
towards me but to people around me. I assume that racism exists today due to how one was
raised and how one now continues to raise their children. It is sad, but I believe whites (not all)
believe that it is not normal for people of color to excel in their careers. To me, it's almost like
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the Tulsa massacre was a statement towards people of color to back down to where they came
from (slavery) and stay in that place.
Creating a Research Question:
For as long as I can remember, I believed a combination of things such as anger, hatred,
jealousy, racism, and revenge fueled the Tulsa massacre. After conducting research, I realized
several factors initiated the Tulsa Massacre, such as racial discrimination and false newspaper
headlines. At the start of my research, I created a question: how has interracial violence
changed since the Tulsa Massacre, and why is it still a problem in society today? Further into
my research, I discovered that in 1964 the Civil Rights Act passed a law prohibiting
discrimination based on race, color, gender, and sex. This discovery caused me to change my
previous question: In 1964, the Civil Rights Act passed a law that prohibits any discrimination
based on race, color, gender, and sex; how has this law helped racism today?
My research question helped scope the focus of my topic, and it also offered an
essential context for understanding my current event. When it comes to my resources, I kept an
open mind when reading through them. This helped me understand better what happened
before the massacre without allowing my selected sources to persuade me to be one-sided.
Specifically, I decided Parrish, M. E. J. (1922). Events of the Tulsa Disaster. DR-6.08
Oklahoma, Tulsa Co. (1921) Riot Reports and Statistics: Tulsa Massacre. After reading these
sources, it strengthened what I needed and wanted to know.
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Building Context to Address Questions:
While researching the Tulsa Massacre, I decided to focus mainly on social effects, as
social effects played a vital role in this event. The Tulsa Massacre is founded on the ethical
issues of how and why racism would lead to the destruction of an entire town. The segregation
between the two races raises questions such as why a particular race would be isolated and why
it came to be that an attack made on blacks was so brutal that an entire town needed to be burnt
to dust. Primary and Secondary resources shed insight into the aftermath of the Tulsa Massacre
and how future generations would come to understand why an angry white mob burned down
an affluent black town. It is so important to pay attention to the social implications of the Tulsa
Massacre because that is what influences the affected families and how their future generations
would perceive the event. The Tulsa Massacre exposes a lot about the long history of
widespread white-on-black violence in America. People around the world are unaware of the
atrocities that still occur even today. The hatred of one human race or religion is the leading
cause of such crimes. The Uyghur people are living through similar abuse. The Chinese
government is targeting Uyghurs and other Muslims, and they are detaining them and placing
them in "re-education camps" to "combat terrorism." The Chinese government is feely
attacking its citizens, stripping them of their rights, and murdering innocent people.
The primary and secondary sources I selected pointed to and confirmed the involvement
of city officials. They each provided details of the aftermath of the massacre and the loss
suffered by the community. A group of city officials armed white civilians with weapons to
support the assault on the Greenwood community and its people. Franklin, B. C. (1931). details
how he was an Attorney, he described being afraid of the violence surrounding him. He recalls
running through the street, and a mob of white perpetrators gunned down three black males
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before his eyes. Additionally, Parrish, M. E. J. (1922) recalls encountering deputized white
individuals shooting at her and others running around the street hoping to get to safety.
Allegedly a Caucasian adolescent, Sarah Page, age 17, was said to have been raped and
physically assaulted by Dick Rowland, a 19-year-old Black male. Word started to spread fast as
a group of armed African-American men began making their way to the police station after
hearing the lynching of Rowland was to take place. City officials gathered and formed large
mobs, getting all the aerial support, ammunition, and weapons they could get, and ascended to
Greenwood to begin the massacre of hundreds of innocent individuals. Although there are
multiple variations of what truly transpired, this event led to a mob of white people attacking
and murdering Black individuals and destroying their neighborhood. I believe this was
motivated by hatred of the prospering black community and the pure fact that black people
were trying to protect their own and stood up for what they believed in.
Part 3: Examining How Bias Impacts Narrative:
During my research, the narrative that stood out to me the most was the group of
African-American men who attempted to save one of their own from being killed without being
given a fair trial. Growing tired of mistreatment and the killings of African Americans, the
black community decided to act; when they went armed to the police station, they finally
decided to stand up for themselves and others within their community. Authors of primary and
secondary sources provide insight into the event and help understand the feelings of those who
suffered.
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I became somewhat biased while researching one of my primary sources. The author
spoke about the African American men who were armed at the police station trying to stop the
lynching of Mr. Rowland. After reading it, I felt like the author was insinuating that African-
American males were not wrong for doing so. The perspective that is missing is that of Mr.
Rowland. He was the actual man accused of assaulting a white woman, and it would have been
nice to read his perspective on all this. Reading as much information as possible from primary,
secondary, and tertiary sources is best to avoid bias. Researching as many sources as possible
will allow you to see different perspectives on the Tulsa Massacre.
Part 4: Connecting the Past with the Present:
Comparing and contrasting my historical event to the current events today allows
me to understand better racism and how and why it exists. It shows me that although slavery is
over and we have come a long way with racism, we still have a long way to go before it's
entirely over. We hear about it every day on the news: people of color are being sought out due
to their race, whether it be their business being damaged or people of color being violently
attacked and killed. There are still people walking society who believe they are superior to
others because of the color of their skin.
Being aware of my assumptions, beliefs, and values is valuable because it will allow my
mind to open to more knowledge of the world, leading me toward a life of success. It is in our
best interest to know the past so that when specific topics arise or events occur, we know the
history behind each story or event. We would also learn how to approach these events with the
best solution.
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References:
Parrish, M. E. J. (1922). Events of the Tulsa Disaster.
http://129.244.102.213/speccoll/collections/F704T92P37%201922_Events/Events1.pdf
DR-6.08 Oklahoma, Tulsa Co. (1921) Riot Reports and Statistics: Tulsa Massacre.
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/157670060
.
Franklin, B. C. (1931). The Tulsa Race Riot and Three of its Victims.
/Public_Sets/NMAAHC/NMAAHC_Slideshows/2015_176_1.
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