Remembering the Tulsa 1921 Race Massacre
Right now in Tulsa, Oklahoma we are commemorating a very dark part of our city and state’s history, the 100th anniversary of the race massacre that took place in Tulsa on May 31st and June 1st of 1921. I was born and raised in the Tulsa area, yet I was never taught about this horrifying event in school. I didn’t learn of this bleak and shameful part of Tulsa’s history until I was an adult. In fact, I was quite ignorant of it. However, I’ve learned that we cannot let our ignorance further perpetuate injustice.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6a (NKJV)
I mentioned last year, that the more I have educated myself on issues of racial injustice and systemic racism, the more my eyes have been opening and the more empathy I have developed. As my empathy has grown, my internal sense of justice has also increased along with my desire to respond to injustice.
Be a part of the conversation of injustice
I didn’t learn about the race massacre because others were silent. As I’ve also stated before on issues of racial reconciliation, my goal is just to be a part of the conversation and to be a voice instead of remaining silent. I never want my silence about issues of injustice to give people the impression that I am somehow a supporter of injustice or racism. Therefore, I feel it is my obligation to speak up and speak out into my sphere of influence.
Deitrich Bonhoeffer on events of the Holocaust
“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil. God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
“To say nothing is saying something. You must denounce things you are against or one might believe that you support things you really do not.” Germany Kent
“In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
“There comes a time when silence is betrayal.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
Silence, apathy, and indifference can be a sin.
“Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” James 4:17 (NLT)
Repentance is required
As Christians we are all called to confront sin, stand against and speak out against injustices, spread the gospel, and love our neighbors. Part of this will include recognizing and repenting of our failures and of those who came before us.
Reconciliation requires repentance. Repentance is not just being sorry. It’s changing direction and doing things in a new and different way. The entire chapter of Psalm 51 is good to pray over ourselves in keeping with repentance. We can also take the opportunity to ask forgiveness on behalf of others (even a city or whole nation). This was demonstrated in scripture as well by Moses (Exodus 32), Daniel (Daniel 9), Ezra (Ezra 9), Nehemiah (Nehemiah 1), and even Jesus (Luke 23:34).
Remember and speak out
My goal today is to take this opportunity to remember what happened and to educate others in hopes that similar events such as this, on any level, will not be repeated. We are called by God to speak out against injustice and oppression and to love our neighbor.
“Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”” Matthew 22:37, 39-40 (NLT)
“The Spirit of the LORD is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the LORD’s favor has come. ” Luke 4:18-19 (NLT)
“Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” Isaiah 1:17 (NIV)
“He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” Micah 6:8 (ESV)
“Give justice to the poor and the orphan; uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute. Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.” Psalms 82:3-4 (NLT)
“Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.” Proverbs 31:9 (NLT)
“This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place.” Jeremiah 22:3 (NIV)
“To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.” Proverbs 21:3 (ESV)
The Tulsa 1921 Race Massacre
In a part of Tulsa known as the Greenwood District, there were hundreds of black-owned businesses and homes. It was an economically thriving area, one of the wealthiest black communities in America, known as Black Wall Street.
The race massacre started on the evening of May 31, 1921, a day after a black teenage boy, Dick Rowland, was accused of assaulting a white teenage girl, Sarah Page, on an elevator. He was arrested, and rumors started to spread about some of the false accusations against Dick Rowland (some of which were sparked by a local newspaper) along with rumors of a potential lynching. A mob of white, armed men showed up at the courthouse where the teenage boy was being held.
Upon hearing about this, some members of the black community went to the courthouse in an attempt to prevent a lynching. Despite attempts by the sheriff to disperse the crowds outside, a dispute arose, a shot was fired, and the chaos and massacre subsequently began. Armed white Tulsans bombarded and began destroying Greenwood and murdering its residents.
An area of 35 city blocks of homes, businesses, churches, schools, and municipal buildings were looted and burned to the ground by white Tulsans. Historical accounts estimate that around 300 people were killed and thousands were left homeless. On top of that, the community received little to no help in rebuilding. Insurance companies refused to pay. Additionally, nobody was held accountable for the massacre. This was one of the largest and worst incidents of racial violence in United States history. In the aftermath of the event, there have also been multiple attempts to cover it up and avoid any kind of discussion about it.
Take Some Practical Steps to Learn More About the Tulsa 1921 Race Massacre:
First, Visit these other resources on the Tulsa 1921 Race Massacre
Here are some other resources to learn more and educate yourself about the Tulsa 1921 Race Massacre:
Watch these video overviews of the Tulsa 1921 Race Massacre
Visit the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park
John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park
I recently had the opportunity to visit the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park with my husband and children. The park memorializes the Tulsa Race Massacre, and their website states that “John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park continues the American tradition of erecting memorials based on tragic events by giving voice to the untold story of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot and the important role African Americans played in building Oklahoma.”[1]
You can actually take a virtual tour of the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park if you are unable to visit it in person.
Now what?
After learning more about the Tulsa 1921 Race Massacre, consider taking some time to consider what steps you can take to prevent similar events from happening and to be a part of the process of reconciliation.
If you haven’t done so yet, I highly recommend you read (or revisit) this post about racial reconciliation, and then reading related and/or helpful posts:
Finally, pray!
Continue to pray for yourself, pray for others, and pray for the situations of injustice as you become aware of them. Use situations and events as prayer cues to stop right then and there and start praying. Pray for direction, revelation, justice, restoration, reconciliation, redemption, unity, peace, healing & comfort, empathy, for eyes and ears to be opened, for God’s heart, for repentance, and against evil spiritual forces wreaking havoc. Remember, your prayers can be powerful.
“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16b (NIV)
What actions are you taking in your own sphere of influence to speak out and educate on injustices? Share them with us by leaving a comment below!
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- “Reconciliation Park.” John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation, www.jhfcenter.org/reconciliation-park. ↑
