Non-Black folks, let’s have a quick history lesson.

Picture it: the Greenwood district, aka “Black Wall Street,” Tulsa, OK, 1921

Black excellence was apparent. From luxury hotels to movie theaters, Greenwood was thriving and sef-reliant.

These businesses (and homes and schools) were started by Black entrepreneurs, many of whom were born into slavery or were the children of former slaves.

At the same time, the KKK was growing, the city was highly segregated, and white Tulsans resented Black success.

In the hours leading up to May 31, tensions rose between White and Black Tulsans.

Over the next 2 days, deputized White Tulsans — over 1500, many equipped with arms provided by city officials — stormed Greenwood, murdering Black folks in the streets, businesses and homes.

35 blocks of Greenwood were burned and looted. 1,500 homes were looted and burned. But more importantly:

300 Black Tulsans were murdered.

#TulsaRaceMassacre

Over 6,000 Black Tulsans (the pop. of Greenwood was ~10k) were interned at the Tulsa fairgrounds with armed guards while White folks continued to loot Greenwood.

The Tulsa Tribune removed coverage of the massacre from its archives and there were numerous efforts by government and military to remove records of the event.

A bill to formally include the massacre in Oklahoma high school curriculum was introduced in 2012 (SB 1381 by Sen. Eason McIntyre & Rep. Shumate).

It failed.

Similar legislation finally passed since then.

This grim history usually makes non-Black folks uncomfortable. This happened 99 years ago, but the persecution of Black people in America is centuries old.

This story needs to continue to be told.

I would highly suggest reading Hannibal Johnson’s Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District

Also, read @hrw’s case for reparations: https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/05/29/case-reparations-tulsa-oklahoma

Today is the day. Learn this history and learn from it. There’s never been a more important moment to try to understand the pain that our Black neighbors and loved ones have experienced and unfortunately inherited. #BlackLivesMatter #TulsaRaceMassacre #NoJusticeNoPeace #AllFour