Скачать или смотреть 31st May 1921: The Tulsa Race Massacre breaks out in Oklahoma

The city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, had grown quickly in the early years of the 20th century. It was home to a large number of affluent Black citizens who owned property and businesses in the prosperous Greenwood District that was sometimes referred to as the ‘Black Wall Street’. Nevertheless, racial tensions ran high and segregation was enshrined in the law.

On 30 May 1921, 19-year-old Black shoeshiner Dick Rowland was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting Sarah Page, a 17-year-old white elevator operator. The next day the Tulsa Tribune newspaper published a story claiming that Rowland had tried to rape Page and that a lynching was planned for that night. This caused a large crowd of white citizens to gather at the city courthouse where Rowland was being held. Here they were met by a smaller crowd of Black locals who sought to protect him.

Sheriff McCullough tried to calm the situation, but a confrontation between two protesters led to a shot being fired. This sparked 18 hours of racial violence that saw white crowds loot and destroy property in the Greenwood District. By the time the Oklahoma National Guard arrived in Tulsa at around noon the next day, at least 10,000 people had been left homeless by the destruction of more than 35 square blocks.

More than 800 people are known to have been injured, and contemporary official records note the deaths of 10 whites and 26 Blacks. However the final report of the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot, published in 2001, estimated that around 300 people may have died in the violence.