May 31, 2021, marks the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, an event that only recently has come to the wider attention of the American public. Although it was one of the worst race massacres in American history, it took 76 for it to be investigated by the Oklahoma Legislature.12 Even many residents of Tulsa and descendants of survivors weren’t aware of the massacre until relatively recently.34
From May 31 to June 1 in 1921, the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Okla., called “Black Wall Street,” was torched.5 White citizens, deputized by city officials, attacked Black people and Black-owned businesses in Greenwood, murdering unarmed men as well as armed men trying to ward off looters. Amid the fighting, many Black residents were killed; their families lost all their possessions. By the end, the once-successful area was reduced to ashes and the city was under martial law.6
