The Black Wall Street Massacre
#BlackFactz
On June 01, 1921, the race riots in Tulsa, Oklahoma ended. Today marks 100 years anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre, aka, The Black Wall Street Massacre. On Memorial Day weekend of 1921, a race massacre occurred in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The massacre stemmed from the arrest of a then 19-year-old shoe shiner named, Dick Rowland, who was accused of assaulting a 17-year-old white elevator operator, named Sarah Page. Rumors were roaming around that Rowland was going to be lynched and that a mob of hundreds of white men surrounded the jail where Rowland was being held. A group of 75 armed black men arrived at the jail to make sure that a lynching would not occur. The sheriff persuaded the group of black men to disperse assuring them that Rowland wouldn't be lynched. As the group of black men were walking off, a white mob approached the jail. One of the white mob members attempted to disarm one of the black men. A shot was fired, and fighting amongst both groups began. At the end of the fight, 10 white men were killed and 2 black men were killed. The news of these deaths spread throughout the county and ignited white mob violence. A white mob rioted in the Black neighborhood of Greenwood that night into the next morning burning and looting the homes and stores of many Black families. On June 1st, the Oklahoma National Guard imposed martial law, then ending the riot. About 10,000 Black families were left homelss and a propery damage equating up to $1.5 million dollars (at the time). It is said that some city officials conspired with the mob against the Black citizens. This massacre was excluded as a part of history until 2020 when Oklahoma added it to their school curriculum.
