Burning Tulsa: The Legacy of Black Dispossession
By Linda Christensen, Director of the Oregon Writing Project at Lewis & Clark College and author of Teaching for Joy and Justice
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| Tulsa's African American community is attacked on May 30-June 1, 1921. Photo: Oklahoma Historical Society. |
"None of my mostly
African American 11th graders in Portland had ever heard of the
so-called Tulsa Race Riot, even though it stands as one of the most
violent episodes of dispossession in U.S. history.
The term "race
riot" does not adequately describe the events of May 31-June 1, 1921 in
Greenwood, a black neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In fact, the term
itself implies that both blacks and whites might be equally to blame
for the lawlessness and violence. The historical record documents a
sustained and murderous assault on black lives and property. This
assault was met by a brave but unsuccessful armed defense of their
community by some black World War I veterans and others."
Continue reading.
Related:
Black Wall Street
A Black Holocaust in America, 1921
Related:
Black Wall Street
A Black Holocaust in America, 1921
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