With over thirty years of K-12 experience including elementary classroom teacher, elementary librarian, and district technology coach, Shelley Martin-Young is now a doctoral candidate and graduate teaching assistant at Oklahoma State University. Her research interests include using children’s and young adult literature to disrupt the single story of the history textbook and of course teaching the Tulsa Race Massacre.
Tulsa Race Massacre: Knowing the history of your place
If you have been in or around Oklahoma, especially Tulsa, in the last few months, you have probably heard quite a bit about the Tulsa Race Massacre. On May 31st and June 1st of 2021, Tulsa commemorated the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre. This event, The Tulsa Race Massacre, has been called the single worst incidence of racial violence in American history. On May 31 and June 1, 1921, 35 blocks of what was then known as Black Wall Street were looted and burned to the ground by white residents and society leaders.
From the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum, you can learn the full story of the Tulsa Race Massacre. In short, on the morning of May 30, 1921, there was an incident in an elevator between a young Black man, Dick Rowland, and a young white woman, Sarah Page. The exact story of what happened in the elevator differs depending on the person. Some say Rowland and Page were in a relationship. Some say Rowland stepped on her foot and Page screamed. Some say Rowland tried to rape Page. We know Dick Rowland was on the elevator. We know Sarah Page screamed. We know Dick Rowland ran.
Whatever you believe about the story, the headline in the Tulsa Tribune newspaper on May 31 read “Nab Negro for Attacking Girl in Elevator.” This article was inflammatory and is often cited as being what started the Race Massacre. The Tulsa Police Arrested Rowland on the morning of May 31st and held him at the courthouse while they investigated the incident. Dick Rowland was eventually cleared of the charges; however, the incident along with the headline in the Tulsa Tribune newspaper fanned the growing flames of racism in Tulsa, and a confrontation between Black and white armed mobs happened at the courthouse where Dick Rowland was being kept. Shots were fired, and the African Americans, being outnumbered, began retreating to Greenwood.
On the morning of June 1, 1921 Greenwood was looted and burned by white rioters. The governor declared martial law and deputized 200 Tulsans. The National Guard was called in. When they arrived in Tulsa they helped put out fires and removed African Americans from the custody of the vigilantes, gathering up all other Black people, imprisoning over 6,000 at Convention Hall and the Fairgrounds for up to eight days. 24 hours later and it was over.
- 35 city blocks were burned to the ground
- 191 businesses, churches, and a hospital were destroyed – not a penny was paid in restitution to these business owners
- 1500 homes were looted and/or destroyed
- What was once reported as only 36 deaths are now believed to be over 300. Currently, mass graves are being searched for in Tulsa.
100 years later and Tulsans are still dealing with the aftermath of this event. As Tulsa approached the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre, residents were uncertain why this event should be talked about. Many were angered by talks of reparations. Others felt it was just another way to stir the racial pot. Some were troubled by the search for mass graves. Yet large groups of Tulsans were finally ready to acknowledge the tragedy that occurred 100 years ago.
A centennial commission was formed and months of planning took place. There were parades, vigils, speakers, and presentations. A new mural was unveiled and artists displayed their work. Museum exhibits were created and orchestras played. The three last known survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre were given places of honor in the parade, presented with checks, and even got to visit with President Joe Biden who traveled to Tulsa on June 1st, 2021. Joe Biden is the first president to have visited Tulsa and acknowledged the Tulsa Race Massacre.
Why is this important?
As a lifetime resident of Oklahoma, specifically Tulsa, and a 30-year veteran teacher, I was shocked when I learned of the Tulsa Race Massacre. I was 50 years old, at the beginning of my PhD program, and attending Oklahoma State University Writing Project in the summer of 2016 when I discovered the atrocities that had happened in my own back yard. I learned about this event on a field trip to the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park. There on a plaque, I read the story of an event I had never learned about, an event I had never taught. I received my public education from first Tulsa Public Schools, then later at schools in surrounding districts all in Tulsa County.
In the surrounding school districts, I was immersed in an education that can only be described as white. Growing up white in a predominantly white place, attending predominantly white schools, being taught by predominantly white teachers something was missing – a connection to locally relevant issues (Taylor & Silvis, 2017). Teachers have an incredible opportunity, whether it is in science, social studies, or English language arts to situate their students in community issues that have consequences for their daily lives (Jurow & Shea, 2015). The Tulsa Race Massacre is only one such issue. As you are reading this, can you think of history in your own backyard that your students may not know about?
Place plays an important role in our lives. “Throughout our entire lives, we are embedded in a historical sociocultural context in which we are acting and being acted upon by the world and other people” (Coughlin & Kirch, 2010, p. 916). Knowing the history of your place is important. Finding out about the Tulsa Race Massacre at the age of 50 was hard for me. I struggled with this knowledge for a long time. I felt like I had been lied to. I also felt like I had failed my students.
Five years later and I am still working through issues as I try to reconcile a past that I knew nothing about with encouraging future teachers to get out of their comfort zone and explore their own possibly hidden histories. Educating our students in the histories of place is vital. Teaching students about hidden stories or silenced voices is important. Could learning about the local histories possibly impact the future of that place? I can’t help but wonder if the racial issues in Tulsa would be different if the story of the Tulsa Race Massacre was not covered up for so long.
The story of Greenwood does not stop with the tragedy that happened on May 31 and June 1, 1921. The story of Greenwood is also about the survivors. The story of Greenwood is also about rebuilding. The story of Greenwood is about resilience. The story of Greenwood is still evolving 100 years later.