The Tulsa Race Riot Of 1921 - 1400 Words

The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 was the culmination of racial tensions both endemic in American society as a whole in the period, and certain tensions peculiar to Tulsa, Oklahoma. In 1921, Greenwood and its African American population became the outlet for these often violent tensions seething among Tulsa’s white population. The following paper seeks to shed some further understanding on what motivated and pushed the whites of Tulsa, Oklahoma to such a violent, extreme reaction during the riot. To answer the question, ‘Why were the whites so mean?’ it is necessary to understand the pre-existing conditions that existed in Tulsa, Oklahoma before the actual riot took place in 1921. Pre-existing racism in Tulsa was the foundation on which all the other causes of the riot were built upon. Wide-spread segregation was still common in America at that time and it was accepted by many in the North and South that whites were inherently superior to blacks. These views were particularly strong in the South, where emancipated blacks were seen as a threat and scourge to white Southern culture, a culture which was utterly dominated by whites and where blacks were oppressed with no hope of equal protection under the law, equal representation, etc. This was also the case in Tulsa in the early 1900s. Blacks were segregated against by the white residents and as a consequence formed their own community, called Greenwood, on the north side of the Frisco Railroad tracks, which was heralded byShow MoreRelatedThe Tulsa Race Riot Of 19211376 Words   |  6 PagesThe Tulsa race riot was a large-scale, racially motivated pogrom on May 31 and June 1, 1921, in which a group of whites a ttacked the black community of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Greenwood District, the wealthiest black community in the United States, was burned to the ground. Over the course of 16 hours, more than 800 people were admitted to local white hospitals with injuries, the two black hospitals were burned down, and police arrested and detained more than 6,000 black Greenwood residents at threeRead More Tulsa Race Riots Essay1676 Words   |  7 Pages Tulsa Race Riot The Tulsa race riot changed the course of American history by actively expressing African American views on white supremacy. Before the events of the Tulsa race riot African Americans saw the white community taking justice into their own hands. Black citizens of Tulsa stood up against this sort of white mob. This escaladed into the Tulsa race riot. The Tulsa race riot and its effects weighed heavily upon the African Americans of this era. The first event was with the IndustrialRead MoreA Short Note On Oklahoma Race Riots And The Black Wall Street928 Words   |  4 PagesTu â€Æ' Tulsa Race Riots On May 31-June 1, 1921, a series of actions occurred in Greenwood, a small district in the northern parts of Tulsa, Oklahoma, which are now called the Tulsa race Riots. Being a segregated city like the rest of Oklahoma, many of Tulsa’s African American citizens resided in Greenwood- an area composed of predominately African American communities and business locations. The discovery of oil is the number one reason why Tulsa’s economy flourished. There was an abundance ofRead MoreThe Tragedy Of The 1920 S1525 Words   |  7 PagesIII 10 March 2017 The Tragedy of the 1920’s Tulsa Race Riot Racism has been a huge problem in the U.S. for many decades now, and a big action that follows racism are the race riots. One of the biggest riots of the 1920’s was the Tulsa Race Riot, which involved the burning of the Greenwood area, and left many African Americans homeless. The Tulsa Race Riot was concluded to be one of the worst racial violent events in American history. On June 1, 1921 a sequence of really bad events had happenedRead MoreThe Destruction Of The Black Nation1440 Words   |  6 Pagesburns their lungs. The events are a recurring nightmare. While concealed from the 700,000 citizens dwelling and working in Tulsa, Oklahoma, they trod upon the grounds of the site of one of the most horrid race riots in America’s history. However, the witnesses of this atrocity would never be able to rid the images that were burned into their minds. The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 transpired in what was considered to be the Promise Land for the black populous (See Appendix A). For years the African AmericansRead MoreTulsa Race Riots1755 Words   |  8 Pages Riot Beginnings pg. 3 -4 III. Statistics pg. 4-5 IV. Lives Changed pg. 5-6 V. Reparations pg 6-7 VI. References pg. 8 Introduction The Tulsa race riot of 1921 was a dark time in the history of Oklahoma. It all began with a simple misunderstanding, but had catastrophic consequences. Homes and businesses were destroyed, many African Americans and whites were killed, and Tulsa had lostRead MoreJohn Legend And His Get Lifted Film Co Essay2182 Words   |  9 Pageshistory. Through the documentary, the men and women of Greenwood, Tulsa. Oklahoma will be heard, as we chronicle the events that brought a thriving black community to its knees. Entrepreneur, J. B. Stradford, believed that black people had a better chance of economic progress if they if they pooled their resources, worked together and supported each other s businesses. He bought large plots of real estate in the northeastern part of Tulsa, which he had subdivided and sold exclusively to other AfricanRead MoreThe Tulsa Race Riot : The Black Population Of Tulsa At The Time Of The Riots3694 Words   |  15 PagesThe Tulsa Race Riot is an event that is quite possibly the most unknown and misconstrued piece of history in the United States of America. When and if it is discussed, it’s taken as a single event that happened in Tulsa and was deadly and very destructive. The many theories of what occurred and how it came to the extreme mob like violence taken on Tulsa’s own civilians. The evidence found suggest there were alternative motives in Tulsa for acquiring land that the black civilians held. This paperRead MoreThe Resurgence Of The Kkk944 Words   |  4 Pages1920s involved infamous race riots, lynching, the Sweet Case, and the rise of the Ku Klux Klan. However, out of all these other factors, the Ku Klux Klan has left a huge impact on American history. To begin, there were many ways to show racism but, race riots were most common. One of the most famous race riots happened in Tulsa, Oklahoma. On the thirty first of May till the first of June in 1921, a handful of white people attacked an African American community. The Tulsa Riot started in an attemptRead MoreThe Bombing Of America s Black Wall Street Essay1538 Words   |  7 Pages The bombing of America’s Black Wall Street The events that took place in Greenwood, Oklahoma on the 31 of May 1921, was a holocaust in Black American history. Present day African Americans still cannot get past this horrible memory that their ancestors experienced because there was no atonement nor acknowledgement by the American government. The suburb of Tulsa christened â€Å"Little Africa† was an advanced economically empowered black community. It could be described as the golden black community