Tulsa Reparations Coalition

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The Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, also called the 1921 Race Riot Commission, was authorized in 1997 by the Oklahoma State Legislature. Its purpose was to research the events of the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. Its report was submitted on February 28, 2001. The Tulsa Reparations Coalition, [1] sponsored by the Center for Racial Justice, Inc. was formed April 7, 2001, to obtain restitution for the damages suffered by Tulsa's Black community, as recommended by the Oklahoma Commission on February 21, 2001.

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After reporting back to the Oklahoma State Legislature, the final report recommended five separate reparations to the survivors, descendants and to the community of Greenwood where the massacre took place.

The Commission conducted three and a half years of research, speaking with survivors of the massacre and sifting through hospital and autopsy reports. The final report of the Commission discussed the events of May 31 and June 1, 1921; the destruction of property; the social and economic dislocation and devastation of the black community; and the number of casualties the Commission confirmed. In brief,

Through the night of May 31, and into the morning of June 1, whites virtually destroyed the Greenwood section. There were an undetermined number of deaths, both black and white, with estimates ranging from the official count of 36 to approximately 300. Over 1,000 residences were burned and another 400 looted. The business district of Greenwood was totally destroyed and probably accounts for much of the $4 million in claims filed against the city in 1921. [3]

There had been much speculation as to the actual number of deaths. There were statements that many hundreds of deaths occurred during the massacre, far more than were reported. Eyewitnesses said that these bodies were of black men and were located in mass unmarked graves. In contrast, based on contemporary autopsy reports and death certificates, the Commission confirmed 26 black males, 13 white males, and over 100 estimated dead. The final report also includes the available data about the bodies, including their cause of death, wounds, etc. They did not dismiss the possibility of mass graves, and found at least one potential location based on an eyewitness report and a geophysical search. However, obtaining conclusive evidence required archeological work, which the investigators were not authorized to perform. [4]

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In the broader context of racism against Black Americans and racism in the United States, mass racial violence in the United States consists of ethnic conflicts and race riots, along with such events as:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tulsa race massacre</span> 1921 mass violence in Oklahoma, US

The Tulsa race massacre, also known as the Tulsa race riot or the Black Wall Street massacre, was a two-day-long white supremacist terrorist massacre that took place between May 31 and June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as deputies and armed by city government officials, attacked black residents and destroyed homes and businesses of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event is considered one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history. The attackers burned and destroyed more than 35 square blocks of the neighborhood—at the time one of the wealthiest black communities in the United States, colloquially known as "Black Wall Street".

Greenwood is a historic freedom colony in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As one of the most prominent concentrations of African-American businesses in the United States during the early 20th century, it was popularly known as America's "Black Wall Street". It was burned to the ground in the Tulsa race massacre of 1921, in which a local white mob gathered and attacked the area. Between 75 and 300 Americans were killed, hundreds more were injured, and the homes of 5000 were destroyed, leaving them homeless. The massacre was one of the largest in the history of U.S. race relations, destroying the once-thriving Greenwood community.

Roy Belton was a 19-year-old white man arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma with a female accomplice for the August 21, 1920 hijacking and shooting of a white man, local taxi driver Homer Nida. He was taken from the county jail by a group of armed men, after a confrontation with the sheriff, and taken to an isolated area where he was lynched.

Dick Rowland or Roland was an African-American teenage shoeshiner whose arrest for assault in May 1921 was the impetus for the Tulsa race massacre. Rowland was 19 years old at the time. The alleged victim of the assault was a white 17-year-old elevator operator Sarah Page. She had declined to prosecute. According to conflicting reports, the arrest was prompted after Rowland tripped in Page's elevator on his way to a segregated bathroom, and a white store clerk reported the incident as an "assault" or a rape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Zion Baptist Church (Tulsa)</span> Historic church in Oklahoma, United States

Mount Zion Baptist Church is a historically significant church in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 5, 2008. The original building was burned during the Tulsa race massacre on June 1, 1921. According to the Tulsa Preservation Commission, "... Mount Zion Baptist Church remains a testimony to the perseverance and tenacity of its congregants and the black community in Greenwood." The church building was rebuilt in 1952 on its original site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otis Clark</span> American butler

Otis Clark was one of the last survivors of the May 31, 1921, Tulsa race massacre, considered to be the worst racial massacre in American history. He later worked as a Hollywood butler for movie stars Clark Gable, Charlie Chaplin, and Joan Crawford. Clark's wife lived at the Crawford residence working as the cook for Joan Crawford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Lloyd Jones</span> Tulsa, Oklahoma, newspaper man

Richard Lloyd Jones was an American journalist who was the long-time editor and publisher of the now defunct Tulsa Tribune. He was noted for his controversial positions on political issues. The son of a notable Unitarian missionary, Jenkin Lloyd Jones, he was a co-founder of All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olivia Hooker</span> American psychologist, professor, and the last known survivor of the Tulsa race massacre

Olivia Juliette Hooker was an American psychologist and professor. She was a survivor of the Tulsa race massacre of 1921, and the first African-American woman to enter the U.S. Coast Guard. She became a SPAR, a member of the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve, during World War II, earning the rank of Yeoman, Second Class during her service. She served in the Coast Guard until her unit was disbanded in mid-1946. Hooker then used her GI Bill to obtain her masters in psychological services and went on earn her PhD in clinical psychology. In 1973, she helped form the American Psychological Associations (APA) Division 33:IDD/ASD which is dedicated to "advancing psychological research, professional education, and clinical services that increase quality of life in individuals with IDD/ASD across the life course."

<i>Hate Crimes in the Heartland</i> 2014 American film

Hate Crimes in the Heartland is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Rachel V. Lyon. The film examines American race relations through the analysis of two events, both of which took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma: the 1921 Tulsa race riot and the 2012 "Good Friday Murders."

T. D. Evans was Mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma from 1920 to 1922, including the period of the Tulsa race massacre on May 31 and June 1, 1921. He had previously been the judge ruling in the Tulsa Outrage trial of November 7, 1917.

Solomon Sir Jones (1869–1936) was an American minister and amateur film-maker, best known for his collection of 29 silent black-and-white films documenting African-American communities in Oklahoma from 1924 to 1928. In 2016, Jones's films were selected for the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regina Goodwin</span> American politician

Regina Goodwin is an American politician who has served in the Oklahoma House of Representatives from the 73rd district since 2015.

Adjoa Aiyetoro is a lawyer, an activist and the former executive director of the National Conference of Black Lawyers (1993-1997). She was the chief legal consultant to the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N'COBRA) and co-chairperson of their Reparations Coordinating Committee. She is now Professor Emerita at the William H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock.

O. W. Gurley was once one of the wealthiest Black men and a founder of the Greenwood district in Tulsa, Oklahoma, known as "Black Wall Street".

The Oklahoma Eagle is a Tulsa-based Black-owned newspaper published by James O. Goodwin. Established in 1922, it has been called the voice of Black Tulsa and is a successor to the Tulsa Star newspaper, which burned in the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. The Oklahoma Eagle publishes news about the Black community and reported on the 1921 Tulsa race massacre at a time when many white-owned newspapers in Tulsa refused to acknowledge it. TheOklahoma Eagle is also Oklahoma's longest-running Black-owned newspaper. The Oklahoma Eagle serves a print subscriber base throughout six Northeastern Oklahoma counties, statewide, in 36 U.S. states and territories, and abroad. It claims that it is the tenth oldest Black-owned newspaper in the United States still publishing today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A.C. Jackson</span> African-American surgeon

A.C. Jackson was an African American surgeon who was murdered during the Tulsa race massacre in 1921 and is known as the most prominent victim of the massacre. Jackson was a leading member of the Oklahoma medical community and the African-American community in Tulsa, Oklahoma until his death.

Phoebe Stubblefield is an American forensic anthropologist specializing in human skeletal variation, human identification, and paleopathology. She is currently the Interim Director of the C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory at the University of Florida. She was formerly an associate professor at the University of North Dakota, where she also served as Chair of the Anthropology Department and Director of the Forensic Science Program. Her research integrates cultural anthropology and forensic science. She is currently leading efforts to locate and identify the remains of hundreds of victims of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre.

Viola Fletcher, also known as Mother Fletcher, is the oldest known survivor of the Tulsa race massacre. One hundred years after the massacre, she testified before Congress about the need for reparations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buck Colbert Franklin</span> African American lawyer

Buck Colbert Franklin was an African American lawyer best known for defending survivors of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre.

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