#OTD in 1921, the deadliest racial massacre in U.S. history began in the thriving Greenwood African American community of Tulsa, OK.

Black Wall Street in Tulsa, OK was destroyed by a racist mob. #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory

The imprisonment of Dick Rowland, a black man falsely accused of assaulting a white woman, sparked the Tulsa Massacre. A lynch mob gathered to hang Rowland; black Tulsans hurried to the courthouse to protect him. A tinderbox of racial resentment & white supremacy quickly ignited.

From May 31 to June 1 white mobs ransacked, razed, and burned over 1,000 homes, businesses, and churches in Greenwood, and murdered scores of African Americans. #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory

“For fully forty eight hours, the fires raged and burned everything in its path and it left nothing but ashes... and the like where once stood beautiful homes and business houses...proud, rick, black Tulsa was destroyed by fire... but its spirit was neither killed nor daunted.”

In the aftermath, B.C. Franklin, a successful African American lawyer who had survived the riots, detailed the long-lasting devastation of the riot on the entire community, including a World War I veteran named John Ross and Ross’s family.

Learn More: http://bit.ly/3gGkUR9 

Dozens of black-owned businesses were rebuilt in Greenwood within a year of the massacre, and hundreds more followed over the next three decades. This rapid rebuilding illustrates the energy and resiliency of the community. #APeoplesJourney #ANationsStory

Following the Massacre the KKK became more prevalent in Tulsa. The Tulsa massacre is part of a long history of racial violence & intimidation since the Civil War. Similar tactics carried on through the Civil Rights Movement.

The History of Racial Terror: https://twitter.com/NMAAHC/status/898276954717077504?s=20

The Tulsa Massacre’s repercussions—and questions of race, memory, and repair—continue to resonate in Tulsa and across the nation.

Hear how the events that destroyed a black Tulsa community were more than a race riot via @SidedoorPod: http://s.si.edu/2TWuRQN