The Tulsa Race Massacre

This episode delves into the harrowing events of the Tulsa Race Massacre, focusing on the circumstances leading up to and the devastating aftermath of the violence in 1921.

1. A minor misunderstanding can escalate into significant violence in a racially charged environment.
2. Economic prosperity of minorities can provoke hostility and violence from envious segments of the majority community.
3. Media can play a dangerous role in inciting violence through biased and sensational reporting.
4. Law enforcement can be powerless in preventing racially motivated violence when outnumbered and overwhelmed by mob rule.
5. The aftermath of racial violence has long-term effects on communities, both economically and psychologically.

1. The Incident

The episode opens with the incident between Dick Rowland and Sarah Page that precipitated the massacre. Speaker B describes how a minor stumble in an elevator led to an assault accusation. Dick Rowland: "I'm sorry!"

2. The Response

Speaker B details the immediate and fiery response from the white community, fueled by a sensational newspaper article. Richard Lloyd Jones: "Nab Negro for attacking a girl in elevator."

3. The Escalation

The conflict escalates as an armed white mob gathers, intending to lynch Rowland, described by Speaker B. Sheriff William McCullough: "The law is handling the matter."

4. The Outbreak of Violence

Greenwood's residents attempt to protect Rowland, leading to violent clashes. Speaker B narrates the outbreak of gunfire and the ensuing chaos. OB Mann: "There's no way that's going to happen."

5. The Aftermath

The final chapter covers the destructive aftermath and the long-term impact on Greenwood, including the community's resilience and the struggle for justice. Speaker B: "Nothing... permits a word of excuse for the murderous vandalism."

1. Educate Yourself and Others: Learn about historical racial injustices to understand their impact on present-day societal structures.
2. Support Minority Businesses: Economic support can help rebuild communities affected by racial violence.
3. Foster Community Dialogue: Engage in open conversations about race relations to build mutual understanding and prevent conflicts.
4. Advocate for Responsible Media: Support and demand accurate and unbiased reporting to prevent misinformation that can lead to violence.
5. Participate in Civic Engagement: Be active in local governance to ensure justice and equality are upheld in community policies.

May 31, 1921. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a Black teenager is accused of assaulting a white woman, setting off the Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst acts of racial violence in American history. This episode originally aired in 2023.

People

Dick Rowland, Sarah Page, Sheriff William McCullough, OB Mann, Richard Lloyd Jones

Content Warnings:

Discussions of racial violence and detailed descriptions of a massacre

Speaker A
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Speaker B
It'S the morning of May 30, 1921, at the Drexel building in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Dick Rowland, a black 19 year old shoe shiner, smiles as he waits for the elevator on the third floor. Dick loves riding the elevator at work because it gives him a chance to spend time with Sarah Page, the white 17 year old elevator operator.

The elevator stops and the door opens. Dick grins even wider as Sarah comes into view, but Dick misses a step and stumbles across the threshold. As the door closes and the elevator starts moving, Dick lands on Sarah's foot and braces himself against her. Sarah screams. Dick apologizes, but Sarah is livid.

Sarah raises her purse and swings wildly at Dick. He shields his face and then grabs Sarah's arms to make her stop. The elevator reaches the ground floor, and the door opens. Sarah pushes past Dick and shouts, I've been assaulted. Dick knows that the white man rushing toward him has no interest in hearing his side of the story, so Dick darts out of the elevator, runs for the closest door, and exits out onto a Tulsa street.

Dick runs through the city as fast as he can. Nearly out of breath, he crosses a set of train tracks and enters the neighborhood of Greenwood, the black district within Tulsa. Dick immediately heads to a nearby house of people he knows.

He bangs on the door and is quickly pulled inside. But Dick can't hide from the trouble that's coming. The following day, Dick is picked up by the police, charged with assault, and taken to the county courthouse.

In 1921, the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is home to one of the most prosperous black communities in the United States. This city within a city is known as Black Wall street, and it's filled with thriving businesses, banks, and arts venues. Black people who live in Greenwood are often told they have it better than other black people in the country. But residents of Greenwood still face segregation and rampant racism on a daily basis, and many white people across the tracks in Tulsa have come to resent Greenwood's standing as a symbol of black prosperity. Soon, some of Tulsas white citizens will use the assault charge against Dick Rowland as an excuse to set off what will come to be known as the Tulsa race massacre on May 31, 1921.

Speaker A
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Speaker B
History is made every day on this podcast. Every day we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is May 31, 1921. The Tulsa Race massacre it's the morning of May 31, 1921, at the county courthouse in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Damie Rowland, the woman who found Dick Rowland as a young orphan and raised him as her own, sits across from Sheriff William McCullough in Williams office.

Damien is at her wits end. She knows Dick is in custody, and she knows how bad things can go when a young black man is accused of assaulting a white woman. Sheriff William listens patiently. His warm smile under his wide mustache has a way of putting even the most distraught people at ease. And when William interjects, Damien starts to feel a little better about the situation.

William says he thinks Sarah Page is nothing but trouble, and he finds her claims dubious. He also suggests that Sarah and Dick might be more than just elevator acquaintances, and this situation could be the result of a lovers quarrel. Damien replies that she doesnt know that for sure, but it wouldnt surprise her. Before Damien leaves, William promises that Dick will get a fair day in court. Damien breathes a sigh of relief, but she doesnt know that some in the local media are already trying to poison the white public against Dick Rowland.

On the morning of May 31, 1921, Richard Lloyd Jones, publisher of the Tulsa Tribune, is putting the finishing touches on a story about the assault of Sarah Page. One of his reporters caught wind of the events at the Drexel building and landed an interview with Sarah. Richard reads over that interview, in which Sarah says Dick waited for the perfect moment when no one was around to attack her. In the past, Richard has used his daily rag as free press for the Tulsa ku Klux Klan, and he rarely misses a chance to go after the black community in Greenwood. The one sided Sarah page story is definitely on brand for the Tribune, but Richard still feels like it's missing something, so he decides to add his own editorial comment.

Among other personal attacks, Richard writes that Dick Rowland is one of the lowest things walking on two legs, and Richard then runs with a headline that seems to be a call to action, reading nab Negro for attacking a girl in elevator. By 03:00 p.m. that day, paper boys around Tulsa are hawking the Tribune. Many of them are heard shouting to would be buyers, extra. Extra to lynch Negro tonight.

Read all about it, the paper boys shouts. The article's headline and Richard's editorial diatribe quickly spark rumors that Dick Rowland is going to be lynched. And soon an angry white mob forms to make sure the young black man behind bars pays dearly for his alleged crimes.

That afternoon of May 31, Sheriff William McCullough hears about the growing mobile and begins to panic. He doesn't believe Dick is guilty of anything other than tripping in an elevator or maybe arguing with a young woman he's possibly involved with. But William knows an angry mom doesn't care about facts, nor do they care about the promises he made to Damien. William also fears that the small jail in his courthouse isn't equipped to protect Dick Rowland from the mob. So William tries to transfer Dick to a safer facility.

But that's easier said than done. In order to move Dick, William believes he will need to form an armed escort squad. But before William can set the transfer in motion, the white mob descends on the courthouse. As William ventures outside, hes nervous, but he tries not to show it. He speaks calmly and assures the people gathered there that the law is handling the matter of Dick Rowland fairly and properly.

He tries to get the mob to disperse, but its no use. Voices ring out, calling for William to hand over Dick to the mob. Instead, William heads back inside the courthouse. He tells his small group of deputies to be ready for anything and says he regrets not moving Dick Rowland somewhere safer when he had the chance. The angry mob gathered outside the courthouse will continue to grow, and news of the escalating situation will make its way across the train tracks into Greenwood.

Soon, members of the black community there will rally together to try to protect Dick Rowland. But this will only lead the two groups to clash, provoking the white mob to set out on a night of unspeakable violence.

Speaker A
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Speaker B
It'S the evening of May 31, 1921, in the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ob Mann, a young world War one veteran who is built like a tank, strides down the street towards a movie theater. Ob isnt afraid of anything. Hes heard about the white mob gathering in front of the courthouse, and hes. Heading to the theater to recruit people.

To go stand up to them. Ob's time fighting against the Germans in World War one changed him. It made him angry like so many black soldiers. When Obi returned home from Europe as a war hero, he hoped things would finally get better for black Americans. But a white mob gathering to lynch a young black man is just further proof to OB that nothing will ever change.

OB throws the doors of the movie theater open and walks down the aisle. He yells for the lights to be turned on and calls out that the movie is over. The crowd, many of whom know OB, dont protest. They sit and listen as Ob fills them in on the situation. He tells those in the theater that its time for them to stand up and protect an innocent young man from an angry mob.

Most in the crowd agree, and they follow Ob out into the street. Soon, Ob and the rest unite with other black residents of Greenwood who make their way to the county courthouse. When the white mob spots them coming, many hurl racial insults at them and tell them to get back across the tracks, but no one on either side budges. Inside the courthouse, Sheriff William McCullough fears the worst is about to happen. He grabs one of his men, Deputy Barney Cleaver.

Barney is a black law enforcement officer, and William believes most people from Greenwood Trust Barney more than they trust him. So William and Barney head outside to try to de escalate the situation. Barney urges the group from Greenwood to go home. OB says they wont move, though, until they know Dick Rowland is safe. Barney assures them that Dick is being protected.

OB doesnt want to go, but he also doesn't want violence, so eventually he acquiesces. But as Ob and the other black residents leave the courthouse, the white mob stays. So Ob and others decide that over the next several hours, small groups from Greenwood should drive by to monitor the situation.

As the evening progresses, the white mob continues to grow from the hundreds to the thousands, and many of them are now armed. They shout for the sheriff to bring out Dick Rowland or face the consequences. Soon, word gets back to Greenwood that the armed mob is growing and getting out of hand. Hearing this, Obie Mann has had enough. He grabs his gun, gathers several fellow World War one vets and others willing to fight, and heads back to the courthouse.

With tensions rising, William and Barney try again to talk the crowd down, and for a moment, it looks like their pleading might work. But then an older white man turns to OB and tells him to hand over his weapon. OB says, there's no way that's going to happen. The old man lunges for Ob's gun, and in the tussle, it goes off. Gunfire from all directions rings out.

People run for cover as the shots keep coming, killing members of both groups. William and Barney flee inside the courthouse to call for help and to protect Dick. ROWLAND but outside, the mob seems to have forgotten what brought them to the courthouse in the first place. Instead of rushing in to grab the prisoner, they said they wanted to lynch armed members of the mob. Start chasing black people through the streets of Tulsa.

Firefights break out on street corners and in alleys. Ob and others fight their way back to Greenwood. But not everyone makes a clean escape and they look for cover wherever they can find it. As the white mob rampages through the streets, other members of Tulsas white community pour out of their houses, weapons in hand, and rush to join the violence. The Tulsa race massacre has begun.

But later that evening, the already volatile situation will take a turn for the worse. The white mob will turn its sights to Greenwood and set out to reduce Black Wall street to rubble.

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It's the night of May 31, 1921, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A young black man runs down the street clutching a gun, but he knows his weapon is no match against the large group of armed white men chasing him. The young man hears multiple shots. A bullet strikes him. Pain rushes through his body, and blood spills from his side.

He tumbles into an alley and then falls to the ground. A white doctor who happens to be nearby heads down the alley to offer help. But then members of the screaming mob appear. They push the doctor out of the way and crouch over the wounded young man. Then several members of the mob take out pocket knives and stab him until he sputters out his final breath.

As violence continues across the city, black residents in Greenwood gather together in meeting places or head to their homes. But soon, nowhere in Greenwood will be safe. As the night of May 31 turns into the early morning of June 1, the mob launches a new offensive. They march on Greenwood and shoot indiscriminately in the streets. They set fire to businesses, churches and homes throughout the area.

Much of the district burns to the ground, and black families are forced to fight, flee. Later that day, Oklahoma Governor James Robertson declares martial law. The National Guard is called in to impose order, and law enforcement from Oklahoma City is sent in to help. But under the guise of trying to restore peace, authorities start rounding up members of the black community and placing them in impromptu internment camps.

By the time martial law is lifted on June 3, close to 10,000 black people in Greenwood have been left homeless. Many of them have already fled the city, but more than 5000 are temporarily held in the makeshift camp set up by national guardsmen on the local fairgrounds. And the thriving district of Greenwood has been virtually destroyed. It is believed the area suffered $1.5 million worth of property damage at a time when the average house in the area costs less than 1000. Soon after the events, 37 deaths are officially recorded, but some studies will suggest the death toll was closer to 300.

Most historians believe the true number of deaths will never be known, and to this day, experts grapple with the full effects of the Tulsa race massacre in its aftermath. One writer for a local paper tried to understand the events. He wrote, nothing that the mind is capable of perceiving permits, a word of excuse for the murderous vandalism. Over 100 years later, there is still little way to comprehend the event except as a city gone mad with hate and bloodlust, because nothing else can explain the horrors inflicted on Greenwood and its residents starting on the night of May 31, 1921.

Next on History daily. June 3, 1989. The chinese government calls calls the military. In to put down a student led. Pro democracy demonstration in Tiananmen Square, killing hundreds from noiser and airship.

This is History daily. Hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham Audio editing by Molly Bach Sound Design by Derek Behrens Music by Lindsey Graham. This episode is written and researched by Michael Federico. Executive producers are Stephen Walters for airship and Pascal Hughes for R.

Speaker G
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