5 ms·

Tulsa Race Riot of 1921

85 points by georgecmu 7y ago

wyldfire 7y ago
This is the one depicted in the new "Watchmen" series on HBO btw. A great watch for fans of the original comic or film. Probably not interesting to history or civil rights buffs though.
- lolptdr 7y ago
  I have to thank Watchmen series for educating me in something I knew nothing about before.
wpietri 7y ago
Those interested should also read up on the Wilmington Insurrection: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmington_insurrection_of_1898 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmington_insurrection_of_189... It's the only successful coup to take place on American soil. Wilmington, then a majority-black city, was starting to see black elected officials and prosperous black merchants. The white people wouldn't stand for that, and so planned a coup. A coup that was successful: ~60 deaths; prominent black people and integration-minded whites were ridden out of town on a rail. State and national politicians just let it happened, and over time white people covered it up. It was only leading up to the 100th anniversary that it was even properly acknowledged. Fresh Air did an excellent interview with the author of a new book on it: https://www.npr.org/2020/01/13/795892582/wilmington-s-lie-author-traces-the-rise-of-white-supremacy-in-a-southern-city https://www.npr.org/2020/01/13/795892582/wilmington-s-lie-au... I have it on order and am looking forward to reading it.
- wpietri 7y ago
  And I should add that both these incidents were part of The Nadir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadir_of_American_race_relations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadir_of_American_race_relatio... For decades in the late 1800s and early 1900s, this sort of ethnic cleansing was common across the US, and it was part of the Nadir's broader pattern of rising white supremacy. Having never heard a peep about this in school, I was skeptical. But Loewen's "Sundown Towns" convinced me with its mix of document-driven, narrative, and data-driven history: https://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Towns-Hidden-Dimension-American/dp/0743294483 https://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Towns-Hidden-Dimension-Americ... It's been a valuable reminder to me lately that progress in civil rights is less robust than it seems, and can go into retreat for decades if we let it.
  - claudeganon 7y ago
    I too learned almost nothing of this history in public school. Only because I took an elective course on the civil rights movement as an undergrad did I ever learn about Tulsa, lynching postcards, Emmett Till, the Birmingham bombings, and countless other acts of horror that were part of the normal fabric of American life. It was a profound and radicalizing experience. Even moreso when you think how few outside of the affected communities ever have that opportunity and indeed are often intentionally driven away from or are indoctrinated against ever experiencing the same.
    - wpietri 7y ago
      Totally agreed. And I think it's no accident that white-run schools don't end up teaching the history of white violence. Between the organized propaganda campaigns of groups like the Daughters of the Confederacy [1], the desire everywhere for history to instill pride and obedience in children, and the natural tendency not to want to think about thinks that are personally unpleasant, I'm not shocked that I had to find out about this stuff entirely by accident and on my own. Pure POSIWID, of course. [2] [1] For example, the Confederate Catechism: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2017/05/29/confederate-catechism/102300030/ https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2017/05/29/con... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_what_it_does https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_wha...
papito 7y ago
Even the bombing from planes was not made up. I suggest one of the last episodes of Stuff You Should Know podcast on it - they did a lot of legwork researching the event.
faintrain 7y ago
At one point in US history from 1863-1930, the lynching of black men was a regular occurrence throughout the Midwest and South. Another fun fact is that most slaveholding families recovered their wealth less than one generation later through their connections and the white terrorism that let them reclaim their power. I’d recommend checking out the museum dedicated to these lynching victims in Birmingham, Alabama, the Legacy Museum and National Memorial to Peace and Justice. Sources: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2019/04/04/the-sons-of-slaveholders-quickly-recovered-their-fathers-wealth https://www.economist.com/united-states/2019/04/04/the-sons-... https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/memorial https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/memorial https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/map-shows-over-a-century-of-documented-lynchings-in-united-states-180961877/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/map-shows-over-a-c...
NullInvictus 7y ago
It feels like there is never enough time to get the kind of history lessons out there that are needed, and the time we do have is spent so inefficiently. I'm not a student of these incidents, but its important just to get a sense of the scale in number of incidents of these race riots. Just two years previously, a particularly bad year in 1919 saw over two dozen(in part known as 'The Red Summer') recorded riots. And they were everywhere. Just google '<major city> race riot', and you'll probably hit at least one, even for what are now liberal and metropolitan cities. Then bear in mind, like Tulsa, many of these pogroms and lynchings were the victim of a cover up. The 'law' enforcing whites were often participants. Documents conveniently disappeared, survivors were terrified into silence, and witnessing whites told investigating officials that they just saw nothing that day. Any hard number you find out there is probably conservative because we just don't know. Not everyone was sending around post cards of the dead and destroyed like in Tulsa, although many certainly did. If you're curious, there is an entire Wikipedia article on "Lynching Postcards". The imagery is disturbing, so you can find it yourself. Even outside of understanding race relations, this and labor rights suppression (another incredibly undertaught topic) show how 'recent' and fragile the Rule of Law is in this country.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

85 points by georgecmu 7y ago

This is the one depicted in the new "Watchmen" series on HBO btw. A great watch for fans of the original comic or film. Probably not interesting to history or civil rights buffs though.

lolptdr 7y ago
I have to thank Watchmen series for educating me in something I knew nothing about before.

wpietri 7y ago

Those interested should also read up on the Wilmington Insurrection: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmington_insurrection_of_1898 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilmington_insurrection_of_189... It's the only successful coup to take place on American soil. Wilmington, then a majority-black city, was starting to see black elected officials and prosperous black merchants. The white people wouldn't stand for that, and so planned a coup. A coup that was successful: ~60 deaths; prominent black people and integration-minded whites were ridden out of town on a rail. State and national politicians just let it happened, and over time white people covered it up. It was only leading up to the 100th anniversary that it was even properly acknowledged. Fresh Air did an excellent interview with the author of a new book on it: https://www.npr.org/2020/01/13/795892582/wilmington-s-lie-author-traces-the-rise-of-white-supremacy-in-a-southern-city https://www.npr.org/2020/01/13/795892582/wilmington-s-lie-au... I have it on order and am looking forward to reading it.

wpietri 7y ago
And I should add that both these incidents were part of The Nadir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadir_of_American_race_relations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nadir_of_American_race_relatio... For decades in the late 1800s and early 1900s, this sort of ethnic cleansing was common across the US, and it was part of the Nadir's broader pattern of rising white supremacy. Having never heard a peep about this in school, I was skeptical. But Loewen's "Sundown Towns" convinced me with its mix of document-driven, narrative, and data-driven history: https://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Towns-Hidden-Dimension-American/dp/0743294483 https://www.amazon.com/Sundown-Towns-Hidden-Dimension-Americ... It's been a valuable reminder to me lately that progress in civil rights is less robust than it seems, and can go into retreat for decades if we let it.
- claudeganon 7y ago
  I too learned almost nothing of this history in public school. Only because I took an elective course on the civil rights movement as an undergrad did I ever learn about Tulsa, lynching postcards, Emmett Till, the Birmingham bombings, and countless other acts of horror that were part of the normal fabric of American life. It was a profound and radicalizing experience. Even moreso when you think how few outside of the affected communities ever have that opportunity and indeed are often intentionally driven away from or are indoctrinated against ever experiencing the same.
  - wpietri 7y ago
    Totally agreed. And I think it's no accident that white-run schools don't end up teaching the history of white violence. Between the organized propaganda campaigns of groups like the Daughters of the Confederacy [1], the desire everywhere for history to instill pride and obedience in children, and the natural tendency not to want to think about thinks that are personally unpleasant, I'm not shocked that I had to find out about this stuff entirely by accident and on my own. Pure POSIWID, of course. [2] [1] For example, the Confederate Catechism: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2017/05/29/confederate-catechism/102300030/ https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2017/05/29/con... [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_what_it_does https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_wha...

papito 7y ago

Even the bombing from planes was not made up. I suggest one of the last episodes of Stuff You Should Know podcast on it - they did a lot of legwork researching the event.

faintrain 7y ago

At one point in US history from 1863-1930, the lynching of black men was a regular occurrence throughout the Midwest and South. Another fun fact is that most slaveholding families recovered their wealth less than one generation later through their connections and the white terrorism that let them reclaim their power. I’d recommend checking out the museum dedicated to these lynching victims in Birmingham, Alabama, the Legacy Museum and National Memorial to Peace and Justice. Sources: https://www.economist.com/united-states/2019/04/04/the-sons-of-slaveholders-quickly-recovered-their-fathers-wealth https://www.economist.com/united-states/2019/04/04/the-sons-... https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/memorial https://museumandmemorial.eji.org/memorial https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/map-shows-over-a-century-of-documented-lynchings-in-united-states-180961877/ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/map-shows-over-a-c...

NullInvictus 7y ago

It feels like there is never enough time to get the kind of history lessons out there that are needed, and the time we do have is spent so inefficiently. I'm not a student of these incidents, but its important just to get a sense of the scale in number of incidents of these race riots. Just two years previously, a particularly bad year in 1919 saw over two dozen(in part known as 'The Red Summer') recorded riots. And they were everywhere. Just google '<major city> race riot', and you'll probably hit at least one, even for what are now liberal and metropolitan cities. Then bear in mind, like Tulsa, many of these pogroms and lynchings were the victim of a cover up. The 'law' enforcing whites were often participants. Documents conveniently disappeared, survivors were terrified into silence, and witnessing whites told investigating officials that they just saw nothing that day. Any hard number you find out there is probably conservative because we just don't know. Not everyone was sending around post cards of the dead and destroyed like in Tulsa, although many certainly did. If you're curious, there is an entire Wikipedia article on "Lynching Postcards". The imagery is disturbing, so you can find it yourself. Even outside of understanding race relations, this and labor rights suppression (another incredibly undertaught topic) show how 'recent' and fragile the Rule of Law is in this country.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]