"In much of the country, the years following World War I saw a spike in racial tensions, including the resurgence of the white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan, numerous lynchings and other acts of racially motivated violence, as well as efforts by African Americans to prevent such attacks on their communities.
By 1921, fueled by oil money, Tulsa was a growing, prosperous city with a population of more than 100,000 people. But crime rates were high, and vigilante justice of all kinds wasn’t uncommon.
Tulsa was also a highly segregated city: Most of the city’s 10,000 Black residents lived in a neighborhood called Greenwood, which included a thriving business district sometimes referred to as the Black Wall Street.
What Caused the Tulsa Race Massacre?
On May 30, 1921, a young Black teenager named Dick Rowland entered an elevator at the Drexel Building, an office building on South Main Street. At some point after that, the young white elevator operator, Sarah Page, screamed; Rowland fled the scene. The police were called, and the next morning they arrested Rowland.
By that time, rumors of what supposedly happened on that elevator had circulated through the city’s white community. A front-page story in the Tulsa Tribune that afternoon reported that police had arrested Rowland for sexually assaulting Page.
As evening fell, an angry white mob was gathering outside the courthouse, demanding the sheriff hand over Rowland. Sheriff Willard McCullough refused, and his men barricaded the top floor to protect the Black teenager.
Around 9 p.m., a group of about 25 armed Black men—including many World War I veterans—went to the courthouse to offer help guarding Rowland. After the sheriff turned them away, some of the white mob tried unsuccessfully to break into the National Guard armory nearby.
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."
Tulsa Race Massacre - HISTORY
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.
The white mob looted and burned homes, businesses and churches, forcing the Black residents from the area at gunpoint.
An estimated 1,256 homes were burned along with 2 newspapers, a school, a library, a hospital, various churches, hotels, stores and many other Black-owned businesses. In all, 35 city blocks lay in charred ruins. Approximately 8,000 Black residents were rendered homeless. While the Oklahoma Bureau of Vital Statistics officially recorded the death toll at 36, historians now believe that as many as 300 people may have died.
As to Dick Rowland, all charges were dropped, as there was no sexual assault. The man appears to have stumbled into Page or stepped on her foot.
No one was ever prosecuted for the destruction or murders. Neither the city nor the county government contributed in any significant way to the rebuilding and in fact, municipal authorities initially acted to impede it. The American Red Cross remained in Tulsa for months after the destruction and massacre to provide relief to the displaced members of the community.
Photos:
Photos - Tulsa Historical Society & Museum (tulsahistory.org)
An exhumation of the mass gravesite is now underway.
City of Tulsa