The Present-Day Effects of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and Moving Towards Healing

Abstract

In 1921, a terrible race massacre was perpetrated upon the prosperous Black Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. An estimated 300 Black Tulsans were murdered and the entire Black neighborhood full of homes and businesses were looted and burned to the ground by a white mob enabled and deputized by local law enforcement. Prohibitive building codes enacted and the refusal of the city, the state, the country, and insurance companies to take responsibility after the massacre made it difficult for Tulsans to rebuild. Racial redlining, urban renewal projects, and continued racial discrimination that has occurred well after the massacre continue to negatively affect Black Tulsans. The purpose of this thesis is to asses the current situation in Tulsa as a result of the massacre and what steps can be taken to help heal the community. I evaluated research that has been done about the massacre as well as statistical data about Tulsa. Black Tulsans and the once vibrant Greenwood neighborhood are still being negatively affected by the massacre and the lack of remedy and continuing harm to survivors and descendants of the massacre and the Black neighborhood as a whole. Much recent work has been done to attempt healing for Tulsa, including the Road to Repair initiative recently announced by Tulsa’s first Black mayor on the event’s 104th anniversary. Ultimately, I believe much healing can be done by those companies and families that might have profited from or historically been responsible for the massacre to consider the steps they can take to heal the community and to assist with Tulsa Mayor Nichol’s Road to Repair plan.