The Tulsa race riot occurred in the racially and politically tense atmosphere of northeastern Oklahoma, some of which was a growing hotbed of anti-black sentiment at that time–The Spirit of Racism.
(Wikipedia)The Tulsa race riot, also known as the 1921 race riot, the night that Tulsa died, the Tulsa Race War, or the Greenwood riot, was a massacre during a large-scale civil disorder confined mainly to the racially segregated Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA on May 31, 1921. During the 16 hours of rioting, over 800 people were admitted to local hospitals with injuries, an estimated 10,000 were left homeless, 35 city blocks composed of 1,256 residences were destroyed by fire, and $1.8 million (about $21.7 million in 2009 dollars) in property damage was caused. Officially, thirty-nine people were reported killed in the riot, of whom ten were white. The actual number of black citizens killed by local white militiamen and others as a result of the riot was estimated in the Red Cross report at around 300, making the Tulsa race riot the worst in US history. Other estimates range as high as 3,000, based on the number of grave diggers and other circumstances, although the archaeological and forensic work needed to confirm the number of dead has not been performed.
The Greenwood section of Tulsa was home to a commercial district so prosperous it was known as “the Negro Wall Street” (now commonly referred to as “the Black Wall Street“). Ironically, the economic enclaves here and elsewhere — bounded and supported by racial separation — supported prosperity and capital formation within the community. In the surrounding areas of northeastern Oklahoma, blacks also enjoyed relative prosperity and participated in the oil boom.
On Monday, May 31, 1921-Sometime around or after 4 p.m. Dick Rowland, a nineteen-year old black shoeshiner employed at a Main Street shine parlor, entered the elevator at the rear of the nearby Drexel Building at 319 South Main Street en route to the ‘colored’ washroom on the top floor. Upon entering the elevator, he encountered Sarah Page, the seventeen-year old white elevator operator who was on duty at the time. It has never been determined with any certainty whether the two young people were acquainted, but it seems reasonable that they knew each other at least by sight, as this building was the only one nearby with a washroom that Rowland had express permission to use, and that the elevator operated by Sarah Page was the only one in the building. [It has been written that Mr. Rowland tripped upon stepping into the elevator because the elevator was not flush with the floor. Reaching out to break his fall, Mr. Rowland touched the white elevator operator, she screamed and accused Mr. Rowland of trying to rape her]. A clerk at Renberg’s, a clothing store located on the first floor of the Drexel, heard what sounded like a woman’s scream and observed a young black man hurriedly leaving the building. Upon rushing to the elevator, the clerk found Miss Page in what he perceived to be a distraught state. The clerk reached the conclusion that the young woman had been assaulted and subsequently summoned the authorities.
Whether or not an actual assault had occurred, Dick Rowland had reason to be fearful. Such an accusation in those days, rightful or not, was enough to incite certain segments of the white public to forgo due process and take such matters into their own hands. Upon realizing the gravity of the situation, Rowland fled to his mother’s house in the Greenwood neighborhood. The morning after the incident, Dick Rowland was located on Greenwood Avenue and detained by Detective Henry Carmichael and Henry C. Pack, a black patrolman, one of only a handful on the city’s approximately seventy-eight man police force. After booking, Rowland was taken to the jail on the top floor of the Tulsa County Courthouse for questioning. Word quickly spread in Tulsa’s legal circles. Many attorneys were familiar with Rowland, being patrons of the shine shop where he was employed. Several of them were heard defending him in personal conversations with one another. One of the men said, “Why I know that boy, and have known him a good while. That’s not in him.”
The black community, equally incensed, prepared to defend him. Outside the courthouse, 75 armed black men mustered, offering their services to protect Rowland The Sheriff refused the offer. A white man then tried to disarm one of the black men. While they were wrestling over the gun, it discharged. That was the spark that turned the incident into a massive racial conflict. Fighting broke out and continued through the night. Homes were looted and burned.
Numerous accounts described airplanes carrying white assailants firing rifles and dropping firebombs on buildings, homes, and fleeing families. The planes, six biplane two-seater trainers left over from World War I, were dispatched from the nearby Curtis Field (now defunct) outside of Tulsa. White law enforcement officials later claimed the sole purpose of the planes was to provide reconnaissance and protect whites against what they described as a “Negro uprising.”However, eyewitness accounts and testimony from the survivors confirmed that on the morning of June 1, the planes dropped incendiary bombs and fired rifles at black Tulsans on the ground. Even one white newspaper in Tulsa reported that alledgedly, airplanes circled over Greenwood during the riot. That account, however, had the planes working in conjunction with the police department to survey the riot. Several groups of blacks attempted to organize a defense, but were ultimately overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of whites and weapons. Many blacks, conceding defeat, surrendered. Still others returned fire, ultimately losing their lives. As the fires spread northward through Greenwood, countless black families continued to flee. Many died when trapped by the flames.
Not all white Tulsans shared the views of the rioters. It is claimed that a few whites and Hispanics in neighborhoods adjacent to Greenwood took up arms in support of their black neighbors, but they too were grossly outnumbered. As unrest spread to other parts of the city, many middle class white families that employed blacks in their homes as cooks and servants were accosted by angry white rioters demanding that they turn over their employees to be taken to detention centers around the city. Many white families complied, but those who refused were subjected to attacks and vandalism.
Oklahoma National Guard troops finally arrived from Oklahoma City by train shortly after 9 a.m. By this time, most of the surviving black citizens had either fled the city or were in custody at the various detention centers. Although they had arrived too late to stop what had happened during the previous 10 hours, by noon, and after declaring martial law, the troops had managed to put an end to most of the remaining violence.
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