May 31st, 1921...The Tulsa Massacre

[Chris]

Democrats.

Wonder why these write-ups omit the fact the KKK was Democratic. If it had been Republican that would surely be mentioned.

[FindersKeepers]

With rumors still flying of a possible lynching, a group of around 75 armed Black men returned to the courthouse shortly after 10 pm, where they were met by some 1,500 white men, some of whom also carried weapons."



Hysteria set in and the false belief spread that a large-scale insurrection among Black Tulsans was underway. Thousands of whites poured into the Black neighborhood known as the Greenwood District, an area of 35 city blocks.

Between these two paragraphs something is missing. Something important...

Upon hearing reports that a mob of hundreds of White men had gathered around the jail where Rowland was being kept on the top floor, a group of 75 Black men, some of whom were armed, arrived at the jail to ensure that Rowland would not be lynched. The sheriff persuaded the group to leave the jail, assuring them that he had the situation under control.

As the group was leaving, a member of the mob of White men allegedly attempted to disarm one of the Black men. A shot was fired, and then according to the reports of the sheriff, “all hell broke loose.” At the end of the firefight, 12 people were killed: 10 White and two Black.As news of these deaths spread throughout the city, mob violence exploded. White rioters rampaged through the Black neighborhood that night and morning killing men and burning and looting stores and homes.

https://thecincinnatiherald.com/2021...ness-accounts/

[carolina73]

I'm not sure that swelling on the past helps very much. Yes the Democrats are responsible for terrible acts against people that were not their color or religion.

However, we are friends with Japan and Germany after fare worse events that happened after these.

There was no money demand for a cure from those that were wronged.

Shysters in the black community simply see the US government as a soft target for extortion. Maybe the black community should go after Germany where far more were wronged, killed and tortured by the German army.

Picking old sores does nothing to help healing. It just reopens the wounds.

[Chris]

I'm not sure that swelling on the past helps very much. Yes the Democrats are responsible for terrible acts against people that were not their color or religion.

However, we are friends with Japan and Germany after fare worse events that happened after these.

There was no money demand for a cure from those that were wronged.

Shysters in the black community simply see the US government as a soft target for extortion. Maybe the black community should go after Germany where far more were wronged, killed and tortured by the German army.

Picking old sores does nothing to help healing. It just reopens the wounds.

Right, but dwelling on the past for the right is reactionary to the left's false narratives. The historical fact the KKK was Democratic defies the false narrative of racist Republicans. Healing will start when the left stops tearing the country apart.

[MMC]

Right, but dwelling on the past for the right is reactionary to the left's false narratives. The historical fact the KKK was Democratic defies the false narrative of racist Republicans. Healing will start when the left stops tearing the country apart.

Which will never happen and hasnt in over 50 years. (they have made sure there is only one option to deal with them.) The Democrats have never answered for their majority opposing the 13, 14, 15th amendments. Nor their majority voting against the 64 Civil Rights act.


Now they are protected by the Lame Stream Media. Whom they infiltrated. Just like they did with the Republican party.


Want to take down the Democrats and the left. First the Lame Stream Media must be dealt with. As they are no different than Lil Kim's Propaganda machine.

[Dr. Who]

Between these two paragraphs something is missing. Something important...

https://thecincinnatiherald.com/2021...ness-accounts/

So, it was OK that a mob of White vigilantes were attempting to lynch a man who had not been convicted of any crime? The vigilantes had surrounded the Courthouse and were demanding that Rowland be handed over. Did they have any right to try to forcibly disarm the Black men who came to ensure that the vigilantes didn't succeed? The Blacks were leaving peacefully after they had been assured by the Sheriff that Rowland was safe, until they were attacked. They were not the aggressors. Whites were killed because they were attacking the Blacks, who were significantly outnumbered. It was self-defense.

There was no justification for the ensuing attack on Greenwood.

I also left out the fact that many of the thousands who destroyed the Greenwood District were members of the Tulsa Police Force, the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, members of the National Guard as well as members of the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce. Nor did I mention all of the Blacks who were were dragged from their beds and beaten or murdered, apart from those who simply burned to death in their homes or that authorities deputized members of the mob and instructed them to shoot Black people. I also didn't mention that in the aftermath of the massacre, thousands of Blacks were unlawfully detained and not permitted to leave until they were vouched safe by a white person or that the City of Tulsa enacted laws that prevented any reasonable use of the properties by their owners and stopped any efforts to rebuild.

Greenwood was one of the largest and wealthiest Black communities in the United States. The residents were primarily employed within the 191 destroyed businesses in the Greenwood community. These people lost everything. Insurance companies refused to cover the damage. Most ended up leaving Tulsa with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Nor was this an isolated incident, here are several more similar events:

Colfax, Louisiana, Massacre (1873)

Wilmington, North Carolina, Massacre (1898)

Atlanta Massacre (1906)

The East St. Louis Massacre (1917)

Elaine, Arkansas, Massacre (1919)

Knoxville, Tennessee Riot (1919)

Rosewood, Florida, Massacre (1923)

This was a horrible era in U.S. history.

[FindersKeepers]

So, it was OK that a mob of White vigilantes were attempting to lynch a man who had not been convicted of any crime? The vigilantes had surrounded the Courthouse and were demanding that Rowland be handed over. Did they have any right to try to forcibly disarm the Black men who came to ensure that the vigilantes didn't succeed? The Blacks were leaving peacefully after they had been assured by the Sheriff that Rowland was safe, until they were attacked. They were not the aggressors. Whites were killed because they were attacking the Blacks, who were significantly outnumbered. It was self-defense.

You know better than to argue using that lame tactic. Of course it was not OK. I already strongly denounced vigilantism of any sort.

It's just that the massacre, itself, was triggered by the firefight that left 10 white men and 2 black men dead. Why would any rendition of the story omit that vital factor that led to the massacre? I think you know that answer -- to strengthen the slanted narrative.

There is no justification for the massacre. Likewise there is no justification for the firefight. It was an obvious escalation of the violence. In order to understand events from history, we need to have all the details, not just washed versions.

There was no justification for the ensuing attack on Greenwood.

There was no justification for any of it.

No justification for sexual assault (if it happened).
No justification for trying to get the suspect out of jail to lynch.
No justification for trying to disarm anyone.
No justification for the firefight.
No justification for the resulting massacre.

I also left out the fact that many of the thousands who destroyed the Greenwood District were members of the Tulsa Police Force, the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, members of the National Guard as well as members of the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce. Nor did I mention all of the Blacks who were were dragged from their beds and beaten or murdered, apart from those who simply burned to death in their homes or that authorities deputized members of the mob and instructed them to shoot Black people. I also didn't mention that in the aftermath of the massacre, thousands of Blacks were unlawfully detained and not permitted to leave until they were vouched safe by a white person or that the City of Tulsa enacted laws that prevented any reasonable use of the properties by their owners and stopped any efforts to rebuild.
Greenwood was one of the largest and wealthiest Black communities in the United States. The residents were primarily employed within the 191 destroyed businesses in the Greenwood community. These people lost everything. Insurance companies refused to cover the damage. Most ended up leaving Tulsa with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Nor was this an isolated incident, here are several more similar events:

Colfax, Louisiana, Massacre (1873)

Wilmington, North Carolina, Massacre (1898)

Atlanta Massacre (1906)

The East St. Louis Massacre (1917)

Elaine, Arkansas, Massacre (1919)

Knoxville, Tennessee Riot (1919)

Rosewood, Florida, Massacre (1923)

This was a horrible era in U.S. history.

It was a horrible era, but lets tell the stories honestly and completely. Let's not practice revisionist history in an attempt to sensationalize the stories to an even greater extend. That's unwarranted and intellectually dishonest.

[MMC]

However, Chief of Detectives James Patton attributed the cause of the riots entirely to the newspaper account and stated, "If the facts in the story as told the police had only been printed I do not think there would have been any riot whatsoever.


A few blocks away on Greenwood Avenue, members of the Black community gathered to discuss the situation at Gurley's Hotel.^[4][5][6] Given the recent lynching of Belton, a White man accused of murder, they believed that Rowland was greatly at risk. Many Black residents were determined to prevent the crowd from lynching Rowland, but they were divided about tactics. Young World War I veterans prepared for a battle by collecting guns and ammunition. Older, more prosperous men feared a destructive confrontation that likely would cost them dearly.^[62] O. W. Gurley stated that he had tried to convince the men that there would be no lynching, but the crowd responded that Sheriff McCullough had personally told them their presence was required.^[5] About 9:30 p.m., a group of approximately 50–60 Black men, armed with rifles and shotguns, arrived at the jail to support the sheriff and his deputies in defending Rowland from the mob. Corroborated by ten witnesses, attorney James Luther submitted to the grand jury that they were following the orders of Sheriff McCullough who publicly denied he gave any orders:


Having seen the armed Black men, some of the more than 1,000 Whites who had been at the courthouse went home for their own guns. Others headed for the National Guard armory at the corner of Sixth Street and Norfolk Avenue, where they planned to arm themselves. The armory contained a supply of small arms and ammunition. Major James Bell of the 180th Infantry Regiment learned of the mounting situation downtown and the possibility of a break-in, and he consequently took measures to prevent. He called the commanders of the three National Guard units in Tulsa, who ordered all the Guard members to put on their uniforms and report quickly to the armory. When a group of Whites arrived and began pulling at the grating over a window, Bell went outside to confront the crowd of 300 to 400 men. Bell told them that the Guard members inside were armed and prepared to shoot anyone who tried to enter. After this show of force, the crowd withdrew from the armory.


Anxiety on Greenwood Avenue was rising. Many Black residents worried about the safety of Rowland. Small groups of armed Black men ventured toward the courthouse in automobiles, partly for reconnaissance and to demonstrate they were prepared to take necessary action to protect Rowland.^[64] Many White men interpreted these actions as a "$#@! uprising" and became concerned. Eyewitnesses reported gunshots, presumably fired into the air, increasing in frequency during the evening.


In Greenwood, rumors began to fly – in particular, a report that Whites were storming the courthouse. Shortly after 10 p.m., a second, larger group of approximately 75 armed Black men decided to go to the courthouse. They offered their support to the sheriff, who declined their help. According to witnesses, a White man is alleged to have told one of the armed Black men to surrender his pistol. The man refused, and a shot was fired. That first shot might have been accidental, or meant as a warning; it was a catalyst for an exchange of gunfire.


A 1921 letter from an officer of the Service Company, Third Infantry, Oklahoma National Guard, who arrived on May 31, 1921, reported numerous events related to suppression of the riot:

• taking about 30–40 Black residents into custody;
• putting a machine gun on a truck and taking it on patrol, although it was not functioning and much less useful than "an ordinary rifle";
• being fired on from Black snipers from the "church" and returning fire;
• being fired on by White men;
• turning the prisoners over to deputies to take them to police headquarters;
• being fired upon again by armed Black residents and having two NCOs slightly wounded;
• searching for Black snipers and firearms;
• detailing an NCO to take 170 Black residents to the civil authorities; and
• delivering an additional 150 Black residents to the Convention Hall.

Captain John W. McCune reported that stockpiled ammunition within the burning structures began to explode which might have further contributed to casualties.^[94] Martial law was withdrawn on June 4, under Field Order No. 7....snip~


Tulsa race massacre - Wikipedia

[carolina73]

Right, but dwelling on the past for the right is reactionary to the left's false narratives. The historical fact the KKK was Democratic defies the false narrative of racist Republicans. Healing will start when the left stops tearing the country apart.

aka picking the scab

[Dr. Who]

You know better than to argue using that lame tactic. Of course it was not OK. I already strongly denounced vigilantism of any sort.

It's just that the massacre, itself, was triggered by the firefight that left 10 white men and 2 black men dead. Why would any rendition of the story omit that vital factor that led to the massacre? I think you know that answer -- to strengthen the slanted narrative.

There is no justification for the massacre. Likewise there is no justification for the firefight. It was an obvious escalation of the violence. In order to understand events from history, we need to have all the details, not just washed versions.


There was no justification for any of it.

No justification for sexual assault (if it happened).
No justification for trying to get the suspect out of jail to lynch.
No justification for trying to disarm anyone.
No justification for the firefight.
No justification for the resulting massacre.




It was a horrible era, but lets tell the stories honestly and completely. Let's not practice revisionist history in an attempt to sensationalize the stories to an even greater extend. That's unwarranted and intellectually dishonest.

First of all, there was no sexual assault - already mentioned in my first post. As was typical in that era, if a Black man so much as accidentally brushed up against a White woman, it turned into an accusation of sexual assault and vigilantes were getting out the pitchforks and torches. The innocent young man was vindicated one day too late to prevent the destruction. There was no justification whatsoever for the behavior of the vigilantes - they and their bloodthirsty, hysterical racism, resentment of the success of the Greenwood District, as well as their disregard for due process and the complicity of some of those who were charged with upholding the law, were entirely to blame.

I provided a link to the article that anyone was free to read - I could only post so much of the original article without violating the TOS for this forum. Even the article I posted doesn't drill down into many of the more inflammatory details of what took place in Greenwood. I chose it for it's brevity and neutral source because most people won't bother reading anything longer or anything written by anyone who they think has an agenda. The link I provided for the photos also contains more details about this event. Had I wanted to provide a biased narrative, I wouldn't have provided any links.

A shot was fired. By whom? No one knows. Some of the 1,500 Whites were also armed. Ultimately it doesn't matter, because what happened next was the meat of the story - why this event was called a massacre. They even engaged in aerial bombing with burning turpentine balls and other incendiaries onto the roofs of buildings. What Role Did Airplanes Play in the Tulsa Race Massacre? - HISTORY