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Tulsa Massacre: Causes, Facts, And Heartbreaking Photos of the Worst Racial Riot in Us History

After the Great War, the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was a vibrant community of both upper and middle-class black families. Most of the city’s black residents lived in the neighborhood of Greenwood, which included a thriving business district sometimes referred to as Black Wall Street for its economic strength and influence. Greenwood district had businesses, schools, and shops mostly owned by Black people. On June 1, 1921, the white mob attacked the black residents and business and set the Greenwood neighborhood on fire. This event is known as the Tulsa race riot and it is one of the worst racial violence in American history.

What Caused the Tulsa Massacre?

On May 30, 1921, a 19-year-old Black shoeshine named Dick Rowland was accused of sexually assaulting a white, 17-year-old elevator operator named Sarah Page. The police were called, and the next morning they arrested Rowland. In only a matter of hours, the rumors spread like fire through the city’s white community and the glory of Black Wall Street had been reduced to ashes. It was later reported by police that Rowland had accidentally stumbled into the elevator and had only grabbed the attendant’s arm to avoid falling.

The news of this alleged assault spread across white communities. The angry white mob gathered outside the courthouse, demanding the sheriff to hand over Rowland. In response, 25 armed black men, including man WWI veterans went to the courthouse to offer help guarding Rowland. The false rumors that a large-scale insurrection among Black Tulsans was underway, fueled the growing hysteria. Over the next few hours, groups of angry white mobs set the Greenwood district on fire, looting businesses and killing as many as 300 black residents, and leaving thousands more without shelter. Firefighters who arrived to help put out fires later testified that rioters had threatened them with guns and forced them to leave. An estimated 1,256 houses were burned and 215 were looted. Governor J. B. A. Robertson declared martial law and the National Guards were called. They arrested some 6,000 people.

The aftermath of the Tulsa Race Massacre

The Oklahoma Bureau of Vital Statistics officially recorded 36 dead. However, historians disagree with the official death toll count, and many of them estimate the death toll may have been as high as 300. All the charges against Dick Rowland were dropped because they were false. In 2001, the report of the Race Riot Commission concluded that between 100 and 300 people were killed and more than 8,000 people made homeless over those 18 hours in 1921. The Tulsa Race Riot Commission was established which later renamed and the case was thrown into the cold storage.

These historical photographs captivated the horrific aftermath of the worst racial riot of US history.

#1 Furniture in Street during Race Riot, probably due to Eviction, Tulsa, Oklahoma

#2 Clouds of black smoke rise over the rubble of buildings destroyed in the Tulsa massacre in June 1921.

#3 Detained residents are transported in Tulsa in June 1921. A man holding a rifle sits on the running board.

#4 Black residents of Tulsa line up to receive meals from good Samaritans on June 1, 1921.

#5 The aftermath of the Tulsa massacre, in June 1921.

#6 A group of National Guard troops, carrying rifles with bayonets attached, escort unarmed Black men to the detention center at the Tulsa convention hall in June 1921.

#7 Rubble of Houses in African American Neighborhood after Race Riots, June 1921.

#8 Tulsa’s Greenwood District is left in ruins on June 1, 1921.

#9 Black smoke billows from fires during the Tulsa massacre in the Greenwood District, June 1921.

#10 A church is left in ruins following the Tulsa massacre in June 1921.

#11 A couple walks across a street with smoke rising in the distance after the Tulsa massacre in June 1921.

#12 Left: Captured Black residents are transported to the Tulsa convention hall on June 1, 1921. Right: The body of a Black man in the street on June 1, 1921.

#13 This photo shows the aftermath of the massacre at the east corner of Greenwood Avenue and East Archer Street in June 1921.

#14 Injured and wounded men are taken to the hospital by National Guard troops on June 3, 1921.

#15 Inside the ARC hospital where patients injured during the Tulsa massacre are being treated months later, Nov. 1, 1921.

#16 Left: A truck transports the bodies of the dead on June 1, 1921. Right: A man combs through the ruins of his home on June 1, 1921.

#17 The entrance to a refugee camp on the Tulsa Fairgrounds, 1921.

#18 A Red Cross tent constructed for victims of the Tulsa massacre in June 1921.

#19 A Black man with a camera inspects the skeletons of iron beds rising above the ashes of a burned-out block in Tulsa, June 1921.

#21 People searching through rubble after the Tulsa Race Massacre, June 1921.

#22 Woods Building after Race Riots, Tulsa, June 1921.

#23 Burning of Church where Ammunition was stored during Race Riot, Tulsa, June 1921.

#24 Reconstruction after Destruction by Fire caused by Race Riots, Tulsa, June 1921.

#25 Red Cross Dispensary after Race Riots Tulsa, Oklahoma, June 1921.

#26 Surgical Ward 1, Red Cross Hospital after Race Riot, Tulsa, June 1921.

#27 Family Work Department, American Red Cross Disaster Relief Headquarters, Tulsa, June 1921.

#28 Reconstruction Period after Race Riots, Tulsa, Oklahoma, June 1921.

#29 Supply Department, American Red Cross Headquarters, Tulsa, June 1921.

#30 People search through rubble after the Tulsa massacre in June 1921.

People search through rubble after the Tulsa massacre in June 1921.

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Written by Benjamin Grayson

Former Bouquet seller now making a go with blogging and graphic designing. I love creating & composing history articles and lists.

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5 Comments

  1. During Memorial Day weekend, 19-year-old black shoeshiner Dick Rowland, a black shoeshiner, was accused of assaulting 17-year-old white Sarah Page, an elevator operator in the nearby Drexel Building.

    The man was taken into custody. In the black community, rumours spread that Dick Rowland would be lynched after his arrest. When 75 armed black men heard rumours that a mob of white men had gathered around the jail where Dick Rowland was being held, they rushed to the prison.

    The sheriff assured the black men that he had the situation under control and persuaded them to leave the jail. “All hell broke loose” after a shot was fired. In the mass shooting, ten whites and two blacks were killed.