Never Forget: Vintage Photos From 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Underscore The Lingering Devastation
Source: Universal History Archive / Getty
UPDATED: 11 a.m. ET, May 31, 2023
An increasing number of Americans have been forced to come to grips with one of the country’s most racist black eyes — pun intended — amid commemorations of the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921 when white supremacists destroyed a thriving Black business district and killed hundreds of people.
It was widely regarded as the worst single instance of violence by white people against Black people in the history of the United States of America.
MORE: The Tulsa Race Massacre And Making The Case For Reparations
It was 102 years ago when mobs of angry, racist white people descended on the Greenwood section of Tulsa and strategically targeted Black people along with businesses and residences they built and worked and lived in that were part of Black Wall Street, as the area had come to be known for its historic financial success and overall prestige. Historians believe that Greenwood was likely the wealthiest Black community in the country at a time when that type of financial success was disproportionately restricted to white people.
On this day, May 31st, in 1921, the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma witnessed one of the most horrific racial atrocities in American history: the Tulsa Race Massacre.
**A THREAD pic.twitter.com/9t5dTn1zJd
— African History & Culture | Talkafricana.com (@talkafricana) May 31, 2023
The violence included deadly shootings and arson to 35 blocks of buildings, leaving bodies strewn in the streets and structures smoldering after being burned down to the ground.
Photos taken during the Tulsa Race Massacre’s 18 hours of violence as well as others captured in the hours, days, weeks, months and years since it took place underscore the devastation inflicted on Black Wall Street and its survivors, many of whom lost family members.
Today is the 102 year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre in which white supremacist terrorists mass murdered 300 Black Americans.
Here’s how media reported on it—a complete erasure of Black people.
3 survivors are with us today—yet Tulsa & Oklahoma have paid 0 reparations. pic.twitter.com/TLdnuPBy5i
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) May 31, 2023
The end result has been 10 decades of the residual effects of the domestic terrorism that robbed generations of Black Tulsans of the type of accumulated wealth enjoyed by so many white Americans, including those who now own businesses and homes where Black Wall Street once stood.
Many parallels between then and now remain in place in the United States, including ongoing efforts by white supremacists to disenfranchise Black people in a number of ways, including and especially when it comes to laws surrounding elections that could bring about the type of change for which people have been fighting so long.
“I am a survivor of the Tulsa race massacre. Two weeks ago, I celebrated my 107th birthday. Today, I’m visiting Washington, DC for the first time in my life. I’m here seeking justice, and I’m asking my country to acknowledge what happened in Tulsa in 1921.”
–Viola Fletcher pic.twitter.com/jlj4xeNgsd
— The Leadership Conference (@civilrightsorg) May 19, 2021
In an indication that the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre was far from an anomaly, a mob of white supremacists stormed the U.S. Capitol earlier this year angered by the false premise that Donald Trump was the victim of election fraud waged by voters in cities with a sizeable Black voting contingency. That deadly violence came as the result of a lie.
Similarly, the Tulsa Race Massacre also reportedly came about following a white woman claiming she was raped by a Black man — an accusation that sparked the white supremacist-led death and destruction beginning May 31 and ending June 2, 1921.
102 years ago today, white supremacists backed by the US National Guard attacked the self-sufficient Black community in Greenwood, Tulsa, Oklahoma. The “Tulsa Race Massacre” was one of the darkest chapters in the history of racial violence against the Black population in the US
pic.twitter.com/KvjQHvsvy5
— red. (@redstreamnet) May 31, 2023
The Brookings Institute estimated that the monetary damage done — and effectively lost — during the Tulsa Race Massacre is worth about $27 million in the present day. But a 2018 study found that the destruction caused losses that are closer to $200 million.
Now, 100 years later, the fight for descendants of Tulsa Race Massacre victims to receive reparations and other forms of restorative justice remains stronger than ever, however elusive it has been over the past 20 years since that proposal was first introduced.
#OTD May 31, 1921: The Tulsa Race Massacre occurs. Greenwood, a suburb of Tulsa, OK, is burned to the ground by a white mob. Greenwood was known as #BlackWallStreet, where Black Americans flourished as educators, doctors, lawyers, oil barons, etc. The American Dream#History pic.twitter.com/BBfjvo4WGr
— Jazz the Professor (@LikeButta3) May 31, 2023
Scroll down to see more devastating images from the immediate aftermath of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.
1. Burning Buildings During Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921
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Black smoke billows from fires during the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, in the Greenwood District.
2. Ruins of Greenwood District after Race Riots in Tulsa
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Ruins of Greenwood District.
3. Church burns
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The burning of a church where ammunition was stored is showed during the Tulsa Race Massacre.
4. Serving Food After Riots
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Victims and survivors are shown receiving their first meal after the race riots.
5. Wounded Prisoners
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Injured and wounded men are shown being taken to hospital by National guardsmen on June 3, 2021, after the Tulsa Race Massacre.
6. Woman detained
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Black people were detained during the Tulsa Race Massacre, including this woman sitting with others in the back of a truck as a white man holding a rifle sits on the running board.
7. Tulsa Race Massacre
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A Black man with a camera is shown looking at the skeletons of iron beds that rise above the ashes of a burned-out block after the Tulsa Race Massacre.
8. Tulsa Race Massacre
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Unspecified damaged property is shown following the Tulsa Race Massacre.
9. Tulsa Race Massacre
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Damaged properties and smoke coming from buildings following the Tulsa Race Massacre.
10. Tulsa Race Massacre
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A group of people is shown looking at smoke in the distance coming from damaged properties following the Tulsa Race Massacre.
11. Tulsa Race Massacre
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A Red Cross tent is shown constructed for victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
12. Tulsa Race Massacre
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Burned buildings are shown after the Tulsa Race Massacre.
13. Tulsa Race Massacre
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A possibly dead man is shown on the ground beside train tracks following the Tulsa Race Massacre.
14. Tulsa Race Massacre
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A group of National Guard Troops, carrying rifles with bayonets attached, escort unarmed Black men to a detention center after the Tulsa Race Massacre.
15. Tulsa Race Massacre
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People are shown searching through rubble after the Tulsa Race Massacre.
16. Tulsa Race Massacre
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A Black couple is shown walking across a street with smoke rising in the distance after the Tulsa Race Massacre.
17. Tulsa Race Massacre
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The aftermath of the Tulsa Race Massacre is shown at the east corner of Greenwood Avenue and East Archer Street.
18. Tulsa Race Massacre
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The aftermath of the Tulsa Race Massacre is shown in the Greenwood District in Tulsa.
19. Tulsa Race Massacre
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A truck is shown carrying soldiers and Black people during the Tulsa Race Massacre.
20. Aftermath of the Tulsa Race Massacre
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Smoldering ruins of Black people’s homes are shown following the Tulsa Race Massacre.
21. Tulsa Race Massacre
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A group of Black people, some standing in line next to Exchange Booth, are shown during the Tulsa Race Massacre.
22. Tulsa Race Massacre
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A burned part of the Greenwood District is shown.
23. Aftermath of the Tulsa Race Massacre
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Rubble of houses in a Black neighborhood is shown after the Tulsa Race Massacre.
24. Tulsa Race Massacre
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Billowing smoke is shown during the Tulsa Race Massacre.
25. Tulsa Race Massacre
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26. Tulsa Race Massacre
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Furniture in the street is shown during the Tulsa Race Massacre.
27. Tulsa Race Massacre
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An entrance to a refugee camp on fairgrounds are shown after the Tulsa Race Massacre.
28. Tulsa Race Massacre
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An American Red Cross Hospital was put up for use after the Tulsa Race Massacre.
29. Tulsa Race Massacre
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30. Tulsa Race Massacre
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Patients are shown recovering following the Tulsa Race Massacre.
31. Tulsa Race Massacre
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Reconstruction after destruction by fire caused by the Tulsa Race Massacre.
32. Tulsa Race Massacre
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The Williams Building, on the West Side of 100 Block, after the Tulsa Race Massacre.
33. Tulsa Race Massacre
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Burned-out Greenwood District.
34. Tulsa Race Massacre
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The devastation of the Greenwood District is shown after the Tulsa Race Massacre.
35. Tulsa Race Massacre
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A Black man holding a hat with his hands up wearing suspenders surrenders during the Tulsa Race Massacre.
36. Tulsa Race Massacre Victim
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The body of an unidentified Black victim of the Tulsa Race Massacre lies on the ground as a white man leans against a fence beside him.
37. The Stradford Hotel
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The exterior view of the Stradford Hotel, one of the largest Black-owned hotels in the United States, was destroyed during the Tulsa Race Massacre after it opened in 1918.
38. Tulsa Race Massacre Victim
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The body of an unidentified Black victim of the Tulsa Race Massacre lies in the street as a white man stands over him.
39. The Black Dispatch Front Page, June 1, 1921
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View of the front page of an edition of the Black Dispatch newspaper, detailing incidents of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Among the headlines are “Police Drag Woman Behind Motor Cycles” and “$2500000 of Negro Property Is Destroyed.”
40. The Black Dispatch Front Page, June 10, 1921
Source:Getty
View of the front page of an edition of the Black Dispatch newspaper, detailing incidents of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Among the headlines are “Loot, Arson, Murder!” and “Four Million Dollars Lost;” and “Sarah Page Not to Be Found.”
