1921 Tulsa Race Massacre - Justice for Greenwood

100years ago, most African Americans, particularly in the south, lived very difficult lives due to Jim Crow segregation, hostile courts, and lack of opportunities for economic advancement. However, by May 30, 1921, over 11,000 Black Tulsans had built their own “Wall Street''—a vibrant, peaceful, and extraordinarily prosperous community known as Greenwood. For example, multi-millionaire Attorney J.B. Stradford built the Stradford Hotel, which was the largest and finest African Americanowned hotel in the United States. Attorney A.J. Smitherman published The Tulsa Star which is widely considered the first Blackowned newspaper to have weekly national circulation. John and Lula Williams (pictured above) built and operated the nationally known luxurious Williams Dreamland Theatre, which many considered the finest Black-owned theatre in America at the time.

RESPECT, RESTORATION, AND REPAIR FOR THE 1921 TULSA RACE MASSACRE

The great Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois reportedly once said of Greenwood, “I have never seen a colored community so highly organized as that of Tulsa.” Greenwood residents had everything they needed within the geographic boundaries of their community. Indeed, “Black Wall Street” was so economically self-sufficient that purportedly every dollar that came through it circulated through the community fifty times, and it sometimes took a full year for currency to leave the community. All of that changed on May 31, 1921, when a mob of approximately 2,000 White Tulsans, at the direction and assistance of the City of Tulsa, among others, pillaged and destroyed the entire Greenwood Community despite the best efforts of the men of Greenwood who organized to defend their community from this brutal attack. While the courageous men of Greenwood fulfilled their duty (Manhood) to protect their women and children, hey were substantially outnumbered and outgunned.

By sunrise on June 1, 1921, the once prosperous 40-block business district in north Tulsa lay destroyed. In what is now known as the Tulsa Race Massacre (“Massacre”), hundreds of successful businesses were lost. Estimates of the total property damage have amounted to $50 to $100 million. Worse, hundreds died. Thousands more were injured. Still, more were left homeless—many forced to flee their hometown as refuges and never look back. Some were simply never heard from again.

In the Massacre’s immediate aftermath, the White power structure blamed Greenwood survivors for the destruction of their community. Approximately 6,000 of them were forcefully detained in internment camps guarded by armed White men and forced to work as slaves for the City. Internees were forced to wear dehumanizing green cards and could only leave if a White person signed them out and agreed to be personally responsible for them.

While some residents of Greenwood were eventually able to rebuild,owever, Greenwood nor its residents ever achieved the levels of success and prosperity they once enjoyed. The Massacre had robbed them not only of their homes, businesses, and leaders, but also of their capital, and, in turn, their power. As a result, today what once was a thriving, prosperous, and independent community of Black business people and families has transformed into a gentrified, primarily white-owned and occupied area. A highway now splits the City of Tulsa in two, separating the Black, poor North side from the White, wealthy South side. For example, today unemployment among Tulsa’s Black community is more than twice that of unemployment among Whites in Tulsa, 35% of Black Tulsans live at or below poverty level, and only 34.8% of Black Tulsans own their home.

Further, the lasting impact of the Massacre is not just

about the history and statics on paper (Scholarship), but its effect on the lives of real people. Consider the story of my client 106-year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle, the last known survivor of the massacre still living in Tulsa. Every day she lives with emotional trauma as she recalls “seeing bodies in the streets” and having to flee from her grandmother’s house as the white people were “trying to kill all the black men.”

She also has lived in poverty since the Massacre. When Mother Randle turned 105 last year, she said there was one thing she wanted for her birthday: the restoration of her dilapidated home. Several prominent Black residents of Tulsa raised funds to make it happen. The City of Tulsa did nothing to help.

I visited Mother Randle in her home before the volunteers renovated it. I found a disintegrating structure, the perfect metaphor for Tulsa’s refusal to accept responsibility for the Massacre and to deliver justice to its victims.

Instead of inheriting Black Wall Street’s wealth, survivors like Mother Randle and their descendants inherited neglect, indifference, and decades of oppression from the city of Tulsa.

This is why I am proud to lead the legal team that filed an historic lawsuit to get justice for the people of Greenwood and their descendants. Not simply acknowledgement. Not simply acceptance of responsibility. Not worthless speeches about “reconciliation” and “unity.” Tangible action that makes a difference in the lives of the people still afflicted by the Massacre: financial compensation, educational opportunity, the restoration of property and hope. Mother Randle and my community deserve nothing less, and in the interest of justice you, my good brothers of Omega, should accept nothing less.

As we know so well any action for justice is costly. There will be discomfort and pain we must see through (Perseverance). There always is when action is meaningful. With that in mind, you may be wondering “what action can I take” to Uplift the cause.

Act today by visiting www.JusticeforGreenwood.org and (a) make a donation to our work, (b) signup for our regular email updates, and (c) add your name to the list of supporters telling Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum “Tulsa Owes” Greenwood and to restore what they destroyed.

Bro. Damario Solomon-Simmons is a national civil rights attorney, an active member of Xi Omega Graduate Chapter, and a proud life member of Omega. He is the founder of Justice For Greenwood Foundation, Inc. a 501(c)(3) organization focused on justice and reparations for the victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre through innovative legal strategies, public education, and advocacy.

Bro. Damario Solomon-Simmons