The Tulsa race massacre of 1921: a hidden story

Tulsa Lynching of 1921 a Hidden Story by Michael Wilkerson

The Tulsa Lynching of 1921

The Tulsa Lynching of 1921 - a Hidden Story by Michael Wilkerson

This video documentary deals with what is considered by many to be the worst race riots to have occurred in American history. In 1921 racial violence erupted in the town of Tulsa on a scale that had hitherto not been experienced. It escalated to the point where as many as three-hundred Black people had been killed and the black community almost completely wiped out, with the survivors having to relocate.

The film produced and directed by Michael Wilkerson is a very clear and lucid depiction of the events that occurred in 192. The director makes good use of a number of standard documentary techniques, such as stories and recollections by elderly witnesses, as well as the inclusion of commentary on the incident from various historians. The film also includes insightful black-and-white still photographs and authentic film depicting the destruction of an entire black community.

The Tulsa lynching refers to the destruction through violence of an entire Black community. One also has to bear in mind that the Black community in Tulsa was relatively well-off and affluent as a result of the town's lucrative oil supply. It was also known as a "little Africa" and the Greenwood section of town was known as "The Black Wall Street." As one critic notes: "Greenwood was a clean middle class community where African-Americans lived and were able to pursue their American dream, but all the changed in a twinkle of an eye" (Musser). From the film we also get the impression that a possible central cause of the riots was that some of the whites in the town felt that the black community was too affluent.

The director also takes pains to emphasize the social and political background to the events that where to take place in the town. For example, the fact that many veterans from the First World War returned to the town is shown in the documentary as an element in the violence that was to ensue. This also added to the militaristic dimensions to the unrest that further exacerbated the tensions. Another important aspect that is also dealt with very adequately in the documentary is the growth of the racist Ku Klux Clan in the region. The film also provides insight into the fact that northeastern Oklahoma was a hotbed of racial tension during that period. It is also enlightening that the Ku Klux Klan became as strong force in Oklahoma three months after the riots.

The violence was initiated by a single alleged incident. This occurred when a black man accidentally fell on top of white women. She claimed that she had been raped. However, this actual event is disputed and some see it as a fictional pretext for racist aggression. As one historian has noted, "…this wasn't the real incident -- that occurred at the local newspaper, The Tulsa Tribune, which published an afternoon article distorting the event and calling for a lynching" (OXMAN ).

The violence that ensured was, as the film suggests, possibly a purposeful instigation of violence against the Black community. For example, while the initial confrontation was only between small groups of individuals, the sheriff of the town began to deputize hundreds of white men because of alleged possible retaliation from the black community. This led to a situation where large numbers of racist and rightwing members of the community were given the authority and the legal right to carry arms and continue the violence.

The results of the horrendous violence that ensued were that between one-hundred and three hundred Black people were killed. Damage to the community was devastating. The Entire 35-block Greenwood District was basically destroyed. More than ten-thousand people were left homeless after the incident. Furthermore, the Tulsa Star and the Oklahoma Sun, two Black newspapers were totally destroyed, as well as the library and six churches. Many private properties, including the offices of professionals such as lawyers and doctors, were also destroyed in the day of violence.

Another appalling fact that emerges from the documentary is the way in which the Blacks residents of Tulsa were treated even after the violence. They were all forced to seek refuge and those who were vouched for by whites in the town had to wear ribbons to identify themselves. This fact brings to mind the way that the Nazis treated the Jews during the Second World War.