A "forgotten" pogrom: The Tusla, Oklahoma massacre of blacks by whitebigots.

http://www.exodusnews.com/HISTORY/History007.htm

The Tulsa, Oklahoma Race

Riot of 1921

By James E Patrick

Racial unrest and violence against African Americans permeated

domestic developments in the United States during the post-World War 1

era. From individual lynching to massive violence against entire

African American communities, whites in both the North and the South

lashed out against African Americans with a rage that knew few bounds.

From Chicago to Tulsa, to Omaha, East St. Louis, and many communities

in between, and finally to Rosewood, white mobs pursued what can only

be described as a reign of terror against African Americans during the

period from 1917 to 1923. Although the number of lynching had declined

from 64 in 1921 to 57 in 1922. In 1921 Tulsa was the site of one of

the worst race riots in U.S. history. From the evening of May 31st, to

the afternoon of June 1, 1921, more Americans killed fellow Americans

in the Tulsa riot than probably anytime since the Civil War.

The official death count in the days following the riot was around 35,

but evidence has surfaced through an investigation to suggest that at

least 300 people were killed. Rumors still persist that hundreds, not

dozens, of people were killed and that bodies were crudely buried in

mass graves, stuffed into coal mines and tossed into the Arkansas

River. If so, the Tulsa race riot would go down as the worst single

act of domestic violence on U. S. soil since the Civil War; worse than

the 1965 Watts riot, the 1967 Detroit riot, the 1992 Los Angeles riot

and the 1995 Oklahoma city bombing.

Those events left a total of 301 dead. Two days of violence and arson

directed by whites against African American neighborhoods left

hundreds dead, hundreds injured, and more than 1500 African American

owned homes and 600 businesses destroyed. Also destroyed in the

African American neighborhoods were 21 churches, 21 restaurants, 30

stores, 2 movie theaters, a hospital, a bank, the post office,

libraries, and schools.

On May 30, 1921, a 19-year-old African American shoeshine man named

Dick Rowland entered the Drexal building downtown to use the

segregated restroom. While approaching the elevator, which apparently

hadn't stopped evenly with the floor, Mr. Rowland tripped and fell on

the operator, a 17-year-old white girl named Sarah Page. Ms. Page not

knowing it was accidental attempts to hit Mr. Rowland with her purse.

Mr. Rowland grabs Ms. Page, attempting to stop her assault. Ms. Page

screams, Mr. Rowland runs out of the elevator and the building. Ms.

Page tells the police that the man had attempted to criminally assault

her. Ms. Page later changes her story and said he grabbed her.

Authorities arrested Mr. Rowland and held him overnight in the county

jail, though Ms. Page declined to press charges.

The following day, the Tulsa Tribune ran a story in the afternoon

edition headlined, "Nab Negro For Attacking Girl In Elevator," and

added a racially charged editorial calling for a lynching. That

evening a crowd of about 400 whites gather around the jail, some say

to help with or view the lynching. Shortly there after, the news

reached the African American community. A group of about 25 African

Americans, all armed head to the jail.

When they arrive, they find out the story had been exaggerated. After

talking to the deputy sheriff, whom reassured them no harm would come

to Mr. Rowland, the African Americans went home. But later they

returned, this time numbering about 75. Again the sheriff convinced

them no harm would come to Mr. Rowland. As they were leaving a white

man (possibly a deputy) attempted to disarm one of them. A shot was

fired. By 10pm shots were being fired indiscriminately by both sides,

12 men were dead (2 African Americans, 10 whites). The fighting

continued until around midnight.

The African Americans, being outnumbered, begin to retreat back to

their section of town. Mobs of whites began to drive around the

streets, shooting any African American person they saw. Sometime near

1am, the mayor and the chief of police sent a message to the governor,

informing him that the riot was out of control and requested

assistance. The governor activated the Oklahoma National Guard and

requested two companies of soldiers from Fort Sill. The first group of

guardsmen arrived before 2:30am. By 5am, a mob of 10,000-15,000 whites

gathered near First St. and Elgin then marched on Greenwood, setting

fire to every building standing.

They leveled 35 square blocks, murdered, raped and robbed, and

committed other atrocities against African Americans. They used

machine guns and airplanes that dropped nitroglycerin and dynamite in

an all out attack on the African American section of town, killing,

looting and burning everything in sight. It was reported that some

police officers were in these airplanes. By 9am martial law had been

decreed and the national guard took control of policing the city.

They set up interment centers at the Convention Hall, McNulty Ball

Park and the Tulsa Fairgrounds to house persons detained for civil

prosecution. Authorities went door to door, herding all the African

Americans families to these makeshift camps for their protection.

Eventually more than 6,000 African Americans were placed in these

camps. For about two months, African Americans were forbidden from

leaving the camps, except to work. Many African Americans fled the

city, buying one-way tickets to every city from New York to San

Francisco. No further violence occurred.

Friday, June 3rd martial law was revoked and the national guard

returned the city back to the local police. Within a week of the riot,

African Americans were made to carry "green cards". African Americans

working in a permanent jobs wore "green cards", signed by their

employer as a matter of identification. Employers would go to the

issuing location to identify the employee, then the employee would be

issued the "green card". Any African American found in the streets

without a "green card" were to be arrested after Tuesday, June 7th and

taken to the fairgrounds camp to help the African American victims of

the riot. More than 7,500 cards were issued.

A grand jury investigating the riot indicted about 20 African American

men, but no whites. Many of the African American men fled. No one went

to jail. The case against Dick Rowland was dismissed at the end of

September, 1921. His dismissal followed the receipt of a letter by the

county attorney from the girl he was accused of assaulting, in which

Sarah Page stated that she did not wish to prosecute the case. Police

Chief John Gustafson was indicted, tried and convicted of failure to

control the situation.

The Greenwood District was rebuilt, but never again achieved the

national reknown and economic status it had enjoyed as the country's

"Negro Wall Street". Now Oklahoma officials are opening up a nearly 80-

year-old wound, conducting an investigation to find out once and for

all what happened in Tulsa on May 31st and June 1,1921. Investigators

intend to sweep metal-detection devices over a suspected site in

search of belt buckles, shoe nails and other evidence that might

suggest a mass grave. If investigators find something, they may

excavate the site to search for remains. The main aims of the project

are to spur healing and closure in Tulsa and possibly to offer

survivors and descendants of victims some sort of reparations.

On Feb 23, 7:03 am, HarryNadds <hoofhearte...@yahoo.com> wrote:

> On Feb 23, 3:00 am, ultim...@hotmail.com wrote:

>

>

>

> >http://www.exodusnews.com/HISTORY/History007.htm

>

> > The Tulsa, Oklahoma Race

> > Riot of 1921

> > By James E Patrick

>

> > Racial unrest and violence against African Americans permeated

> > domestic developments in the United States during the post-World War 1

> > era. From individual lynching to massive violence against entire

> > African American communities, whites in both the North and the South

> > lashed out against African Americans with a rage that knew few bounds.

>

> > From Chicago to Tulsa, to Omaha, East St. Louis, and many communities

> > in between, and finally to Rosewood, white mobs pursued what can only

> > be described as a reign of terror against African Americans during the

> > period from 1917 to 1923. Although the number of lynching had declined

> > from 64 in 1921 to 57 in 1922. In 1921 Tulsa was the site of one of

> > the worst race riots in U.S. history. From the evening of May 31st, to

> > the afternoon of June 1, 1921, more Americans killed fellow Americans

> > in the Tulsa riot than probably anytime since the Civil War.

>

> > The official death count in the days following the riot was around 35,

> > but evidence has surfaced through an investigation to suggest that at

> > least 300 people were killed. Rumors still persist that hundreds, not

> > dozens, of people were killed and that bodies were crudely buried in

> > mass graves, stuffed into coal mines and tossed into the Arkansas

> > River. If so, the Tulsa race riot would go down as the worst single

> > act of domestic violence on U. S. soil since the Civil War; worse than

> > the 1965 Watts riot, the 1967 Detroit riot, the 1992 Los Angeles riot

> > and the 1995 Oklahoma city bombing.

>

> > Those events left a total of 301 dead. Two days of violence and arson

> > directed by whites against African American neighborhoods left

> > hundreds dead, hundreds injured, and more than 1500 African American

> > owned homes and 600 businesses destroyed. Also destroyed in the

> > African American neighborhoods were 21 churches, 21 restaurants, 30

> > stores, 2 movie theaters, a hospital, a bank, the post office,

> > libraries, and schools.

>

> > On May 30, 1921, a 19-year-old African American shoeshine man named

> > Dick Rowland entered the Drexal building downtown to use the

> > segregated restroom. While approaching the elevator, which apparently

> > hadn't stopped evenly with the floor, Mr. Rowland tripped and fell on

> > the operator, a 17-year-old white girl named Sarah Page. Ms. Page not

> > knowing it was accidental attempts to hit Mr. Rowland with her purse.

> > Mr. Rowland grabs Ms. Page, attempting to stop her assault. Ms. Page

> > screams, Mr. Rowland runs out of the elevator and the building. Ms.

> > Page tells the police that the man had attempted to criminally assault

> > her. Ms. Page later changes her story and said he grabbed her.

> > Authorities arrested Mr. Rowland and held him overnight in the county

> > jail, though Ms. Page declined to press charges.

>

> > The following day, the Tulsa Tribune ran a story in the afternoon

> > edition headlined, "Nab Negro For Attacking Girl In Elevator," and

> > added a racially charged editorial calling for a lynching. That

> > evening a crowd of about 400 whites gather around the jail, some say

> > to help with or view the lynching. Shortly there after, the news

> > reached the African American community. A group of about 25 African

> > Americans, all armed head to the jail.

>

> > When they arrive, they find out the story had been exaggerated. After

> > talking to the deputy sheriff, whom reassured them no harm would come

> > to Mr. Rowland, the African Americans went home. But later they

> > returned, this time numbering about 75. Again the sheriff convinced

> > them no harm would come to Mr. Rowland. As they were leaving a white

> > man (possibly a deputy) attempted to disarm one of them. A shot was

> > fired. By 10pm shots were being fired indiscriminately by both sides,

> > 12 men were dead (2 African Americans, 10 whites). The fighting

> > continued until around midnight.

>

> > The African Americans, being outnumbered, begin to retreat back to

> > their section of town. Mobs of whites began to drive around the

> > streets, shooting any African American person they saw. Sometime near

> > 1am, the mayor and the chief of police sent a message to the governor,

> > informing him that the riot was out of control and requested

> > assistance. The governor activated the Oklahoma National Guard and

> > requested two companies of soldiers from Fort Sill. The first group of

> > guardsmen arrived before 2:30am. By 5am, a mob of 10,000-15,000 whites

> > gathered near First St. and Elgin then marched on Greenwood, setting

> > fire to every building standing.

>

> > They leveled 35 square blocks, murdered, raped and robbed, and

> > committed other atrocities against African Americans. They used

> > machine guns and airplanes that dropped nitroglycerin and dynamite in

> > an all out attack on the African American section of town, killing,

> > looting and burning everything in sight. It was reported that some

> > police officers were in these airplanes. By 9am martial law had been

> > decreed and the national guard took control of policing the city.

>

> > They set up interment centers at the Convention Hall, McNulty Ball

> > Park and the Tulsa Fairgrounds to house persons detained for civil

> > prosecution. Authorities went door to door, herding all the African

> > Americans families to these makeshift camps for their protection.

> > Eventually more than 6,000 African Americans were placed in these

> > camps. For about two months, African Americans were forbidden from

> > leaving the camps, except to work. Many African Americans fled the

> > city, buying one-way tickets to every city from New York to San

> > Francisco. No further violence occurred.

>

> > Friday, June 3rd martial law was revoked and the national guard

> > returned the city back to the local police. Within a week of the riot,

> > African Americans were made to carry "green cards". African Americans

> > working in a permanent jobs wore "green cards", signed by their

> > employer as a matter of identification. Employers would go to the

> > issuing location to identify the employee, then the employee would be

> > issued the "green card". Any African American found in the streets

> > without a "green card" were to be arrested after Tuesday, June 7th and

> > taken to the fairgrounds camp to help the African American victims of

> > the riot. More than 7,500 cards were issued.

>

> > A grand jury investigating the riot indicted about 20 African American

> > men, but no whites. Many of the African American men fled. No one went

> > to jail. The case against Dick Rowland was dismissed at the end of

> > September, 1921. His dismissal followed the receipt of a letter by the

> > county attorney from the girl he was accused of assaulting, in which

> > Sarah Page stated that she did not wish to prosecute the case. Police

> > Chief John Gustafson was indicted, tried and convicted of failure to

> > control the situation.

>

> > The Greenwood District was rebuilt, but never again achieved the

> > national reknown and economic status it had enjoyed as the country's

> > "Negro Wall Street". Now Oklahoma officials are opening up a nearly 80-

> > year-old wound, conducting an investigation to find out once and for

> > all what happened in Tulsa on May 31st and June 1,1921. Investigators

> > intend to sweep metal-detection devices over a suspected site in

> > search of belt buckles, shoe nails and other evidence that might

> > suggest a mass grave. If investigators find something, they may

> > excavate the site to search for remains. The main aims of the project

> > are to spur healing and closure in Tulsa and possibly to offer

> > survivors and descendants of victims some sort of reparations.

>

> Who gives a big red dog's ass??

Spoken like a true nazi.