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31 May and 1 June 1921, the USA’s biggest racist massacre took place in Tulsa in the state of Oklahoma. Between 100 and 300 people of color were killed. 1,256 houses were burned in addition to hospitals, churches and businesses. The entire area that was called Greenwood was burned down. Greenwood went by the name “Black Wall Street” because many of the businesses of the African-American population there were very successful.

This happened in Tulsa

After the end of World War I, the number of unemployed rose sharply throughout the United States. One of the reasons was that the military reduced the number of employees from 2.9 million to 130,000 in a short time. On top of this came the depression of 1920. the depression left millions unemployed.

On May 30, black man Dick Rowland took an elevator in a building in Tulsa. In the same elevator was the young white woman Sarah Page. What happened in the elevator is uncertain. Some claim he assaulted her, others that she felt ill.

Regardless of what happened in the elevator, Dick Rowland was arrested and taken into custody. This was reported by the Tulsa Tribune newspaper. When this appeared in the newspaper on 31 May 1921, it led to outright lynching in the city. The whites wanted revenge. It got so bad that the chief of police had to call in forces to protect the police station where Dick Rowland was under arrest. This led the whites to go to the black neighborhood of Greenwood in the evening. Both whites and blacks took up arms and this led to gunfights between whites and blacks.

Greenwood totally wiped out

From the evening of May 31 to June 1, the district of Greenwood was wiped out. The whites attacked the district using weapons, cars and private planes. Yes, private planes dropped incendiary bombs on the area. The blacks tried to defend themselves by shooting back.

In an attempt to maintain law and order in the city, a vigilante was hired by the city. This guard was exclusively white men and they soon helped to supply the whites with arms and ammunition. The guard was to a large extent instrumental in what eventually became a slaughter of blacks.

How many died is unclear, but the number is probably between 100 and 300. Men, women and children were killed. In addition to those killed, 1,256 houses, hospitals, schools and shops were also burnt down.

The blacks were arrested

The blacks who survived were, after all, the majority, arrested and taken to other places in the city. While they were arrested, black property was looted by whites. What was not burned down before was now burned.

Rumors of mass graves where the killed have been dumped have been known for a long time. Recently, a couple of areas were found where mass graves are suspected. Scanning indicates that there are 300 corpses there. These mass graves are scheduled to be opened this year.

No whites have ever been apprehended, arrested or charged for the massacre. The governing authorities in Tulsa and Oklahoma have throughout the years tried to put a lid on the incident. Likewise, the massacre has been left out of American history books right up to the present day. The event the United States tries to forget, but cannot.

Sources:

Wikipedia: Tulsa race massacre

Tulsa Historical society and museum

Nettavisen: The story of the Tusla massacre

NPR: New Research Identifies Possible Mass Graves From 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

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