The Department of Justice has opened the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 event up for investigation and reparations for survivors and descendants of those affected.
The US Department of Justice has launched a review and revaluation of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, in Oklahoma. Described as “one of the deadliest episodes of mass racial violence in this nation’s history,” said Kristen Clark, the assistant attorney general for civil rights of the Department of Justice reported to the Office of Public Affairs.
The Tulsa Race Massacre started on May 31, 1921, with white mobs killing nearly 300 Black people and destroying the Greenwood neighborhood, nicknamed “Black Wall Street”, reported the Office of Public Affairs. Dick Rowland and a white woman were in an altercation, no details are entirely clear reported by the Office of Public Affairs. Rowland was arrested and white men went to the jail to demand that he be released to face mob justice, reported the Office of Public Affairs. Black people assembled outside the courthouse to prevent a lynching, and an altercation broke out. In response the white mob invaded Greenwood, burning more than 35 square blocks of the community, reported the Office of Public Affairs. This destroyed businesses and homes. Some suspect that the aim of the white mob was to appropriate the wealth of the black community using Mr. Rowland as an excuse, reported the Office of Public Affairs. Thousands were displaced and forced into internment camps overseen by the National Guard, leaving Greenwood looking decimated, reported The Guardian.
The federal review is being conducted by the Civil Rights Division’s Cold Case Unit, investigating crimes under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, reports ABC News. The death of Emmett Till and the subsequent Cold Case Act encouraged those involved in racial injustice and cold case communities to provide information about unsolved cases reported the Office of Public Affairs. The act allows the department to investigate death resulting civil rights crimes that took place on or before December 31, 1979, reported the Office of Public Affairs. The US Department of Justice is examining available documents, witness accounts, scholarly and historical research and other information on the mask. The Department of Justice will issue a report analyzing the massacre, once the federal review is over. The report will show the massacre in terms of modern and then existing civil rights law, reported the Office of Public Affairs. The US Department of Justice hopes to have their review finalized by the end of the year. Tulsa itself has launched a review of the massacre and proposed remedial steps. The US Department of Justice wants to add on to the effort that the Tulsa area has made and review any information Tulsa gains, reports the Office of Public Affairs.
Only two people survived more than a century after the massacre, Viola Fletcher and Lessie Benningfield Randall. Both women were involved in the lawsuit seeking reparations for the race riot reports NBC News. However, the Oklahoma Supreme Court in June dismissed a reparations case filed by the mentioned survivors without going to trial, reports ABC News. Aged 109 and 110 years old, the women know they live on borrowed time but are disappointed they may not live long enough to see the state of Oklahoma or the US come from up from the the darkest days of American history, reports The Guardian. The women believe Oklahoma and the US have failed its Black citizens, reports The Guardian.
Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons was responsible for the main efforts, representing the living victims and descendents of the massacre, reported 2NewsOklahoma. Soloman-Simmons said this is a big step in achieving their goals and uncovering more answers reported 2NewsOklahoma. Solomon-Simmons credited this decision with the Department of Justice, in Washington DC and on Zoom, continually fighting for the community, reports ABC News.
Egunwale Amusan, a descendant of one of the victims said we will never stop fighting and people may not understand this passion because they have not been part of the fight from the beginning reported 2NewsOklahoma. Among others, Amusan wants reparations and the Department of Justice to recognise the race massacre as the largest crime scene in the country’s history, reported 2NewsOklahoma. Even though the work is done by the end of the year, the impact will last forever, Amusan reminds people, reported 2NewsOklahoma.
Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum welcomes the news, thanking the Department of Justice for acknowledging Tulsa’s work when they started the project named six years ago, reported 2NewsOklahoma. Bynum further explained they brought in archaeologists, anthropologists and forensic experts to bring justice to the victims and families reported 2NewsOklahoma. Bynum reports they have made great strides in their investigation and announced eight profiles of interest, including the first positive identification of a massacre victim buried in an unmarked grave, CL Daniel reported 2NewsOklahoma.
Tiffany Crutcher, another descendant of a survivor of the massacre, said the massacre has been ignored for too long, reports ABC News. During a press conference Crutcher admitted her family and the community are deeply grateful that the Department of Justice is finally preparing to review the 1921 massacre, reports ABC News.
