The Burning: Massacre, Destruction, and the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 by Tim Madigan illustrated the horrendous racial conflict between the white and black people of Tulsa on May 31st and June 1st of 1921. Madigan detailed how white mobs burned the entire community of Greenwood, an African-American community in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The race riot was triggered by the arrest of a young black man for a false accusation of assault by a white woman in an elevator. White supremacist groups gathered to lynch the accused black man, Diamond Dick. African American people gathered to defend the accused black man from being murdered by the white mobs. Since both groups were armed, violence broke out that led to the murder of many innocent black people in Tulsa. After the heinous event, people refused to talk about and acknowledge the dark event of history. Throughout the novel, Tim Madigan details the narratives and background that led to the explosive violence of the race riot. One of the main …show more content…
The violence that was brought upon black people was fueled by ingrained racism from the civil war era. Previous confederate soldiers held bitter resentment towards black people, and the government did little to protect the rights of black people after the civil war. Any signs of black prosperity were met with violence from white people who were angered that black people challenged white superiority. Any sign of success of black people in Greenwood only made them targets of white supremacists. White people often considered themselves as "the hand that fed black people", and any sign of black people challenging that standard were at risk to be "disciplined" and made subservient or even murdered. Since the government did not enforce standards on the southern states to protect African American’s rights, Jim Crow laws ruled in the south for the white people to limit black prosperity and maintain white
Word Count: 1296 Dylan Zemlin Carroll Winn HIST 1493 - 082 The deep-rooted effects of the Tulsa Race Massacre The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 stands to be one of the most violent and devastating attacks on the African American community in the history of the United States. The Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, often referred to as “The Black Wall Street”, was a community of African Americans that were known for their thriving business and energetic cultures. However, starting on May 31st, 1921, the community came under attack by mobs of people that looted, burned, and killed hundreds of citizens.
The Tulsa Race Riot was the destruction of Black Wall Street in 1921, which was caused by an allegation of a white woman accusing a black man of rape. It lasted from May 31st to June 1st. The Tulsa Race Riot caused plenty of damage from “dozens of deaths [and] hundreds of injuries” to the destruction of Black Wall Street leading to unemployment of the black community (Hoberock n. pag.). An estimated property loss was over $2.3 million. This was an important event in our Nation’s history because “it teaches how far hatred [and violence] can go” (Hoberock n. pag.).
Following the ending of the Civil War in 1865, America was in an era known as the Reconstruction. The Reconstruction lasted until 1877. Citizens were attempting to rebuild our nation following one of the deadliest war in American History. In this time, the Fourteenth Amendment and Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution were ratified. Although slaves were freed, African Americans still faced intense racial prejudice and discrimination.
These were many casualties; it left somewhere between 30 to 300 people deceased. The district of Greenwood, or more commonly “Black Wall Street”, there was more than 1,000 homes and businesses destroyed. This massacre was ranked of the most lethal riots of all time. Many tried to sue Tulsa, but all charges got dropped. Due to the damage and loss.
Although the “free” North abolished slavery, the idea of white supremacy was dominant. ‘“...We are of another race and he is inferior. Let him know his place - and keep it.’” (Doc B) The spread of the abolition of slavery throughout the United States began in 1777 through 1865 and sparked the limits of determining a black person’s freedom.
‘Slavery was the root cause of secession’. ‘November 6 1860, Lincoln was elected president of America which resulted in panic emerging in the South’ . The election of Lincoln as president who was a Republican leader meant that ideologies, movements and values from the North would be implemented in the South which meant the abolition of slavery. Slavery was a huge characteristic of the South as the economy; politics; social status and psychological mind-sets were influenced by the process of slavery. The southern white population then derived the idea of secession which meant the South would gain independence from Northern aggression .
In January of 1926, the Public Assemblages Act made it legal to separate whites and blacks in public halls, theaters, opera houses, and motion picture shows. The final Acts beginning in 1928 attempted to fix the definition of racial definitions. It redefined colored as anyone who has any ascertainable degree of negro blood, any negro blood in their ancestry. The Racial Integrity Laws were passed to maintain social order and to preserve the white race.
In 1921, a tragic incident in American history known as the Tulsa Race Massacre, often referred to as the Black Wall Street Massacre, took place. The wealthy Black neighborhood of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was attacked and completely demolished by a white mob. The result of this was the killing of hundreds of African Americans and the destruction of homes, shops, and churches. Despite its importance, the media's role in the Tulsa Race Massacre is frequently disregarded. During the event, the media's coverage was a subject of controversy, with allegations that it contributed to the violence by spreading sensationalized and inaccurate reports that depicted the Black community negatively.
Research states “Washington visited Greenwood on his way to speak in the all-Black town of Boley, Okla. Impressed by the growth and success of Greenwood, he called it “the Negro Wall Street of America,” which evolved into “the Black Wall Street” during the civil rights movement”(“Tulsa Library” 1). According to “Britannica”, “ Black Wall Street, former name of the Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where in the early 20th century African Americans had created a self-sufficient prosperous business district. The term Black Wall Street was used until the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. The name has also been applied more generally to districts of Black American high economic activity” (“Britannica” 1).
The Tulsa Race Massacre, the reasons for the name is because it was a deadly race massacre. Tulsa Race Massacre included a big group of angry white racist people attacking, robbing, and destroying the black residents and their businesses and homes. What were the causes of the Tulsa Race Massacre? The Tulsa Race Massacre was because of discrimination and racism and pure hate.
Reconstruction is the time period after the Civil War, where the country attempted to improve the Union. There were many successes, but what also comes along with success is failure. During the reconstruction many failures were present; such as the lack of racial equality and blatant racism towards blacks, a failing economy in the South, and tense relations between the North and the South. This created a very intense and challenging period of time for the Union.
5th Hour Cause and Effect Essay Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were unfair and unjust to all African-Americans by making them unequal. The Jim Crow laws are laws that enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States. It used the term separate but equal, even though conditions for African Americans were always worst than their white counterparts. They could not eat at the same restaurant as white people, they could not used the same restrooms, and they couldn't even use the same drinking fountain.
The Detroit Race Riot of June-July 1943 always had the question mark as to what the cause was for the riots. It has also been known as the “biggest and bloodiest race riots in the history of the United States” of America. A review that was completed by Welfred Holmes reveals some information from the book with the title: The Detroit Race Riot: A Study in Violence by Robert Shogan, and Tom Craig. The information that came to the fore was that the book explained the build-up to the riots as it occurred at least one year before the event. It was revealed that the morale of the Black people (Negroes as the book calls them) was very low.
During the time of the Progressive Era in 1900s-1920s, the majority of the American believed that the industrialization, immigration, and the urbanization had produced critical social disorders and believes that reforms were needed to be reshaped America. They also believed that it was time to eliminate the problem caused by the corruption in the government and promote the improvement in order to address the social and economic problems. People like Theodore Roosevelt and W.E.B.Du Bois also accepted that change was needed to improve and develop. The major changes were made in social, economic and political reforms. But, was the Progressive Era a success?
Pertaining to the rights of African Americans a new south did not appear after the reconstruction. While they were “free” they were often treated harshly and kept in a version of economic slavery by either their former masters or other white people in power. Sharecropping and the crop-lien system often had a negative impact on both the black and white tenants keeping them in debt with the owner. Jim Crow laws, vigilantes and various means of disfranchisement became the normal way of life in the South. It was believed that white people were superior to black people and when they moved up in politics or socially they were harassed and threatened.