Jim Crow: The Continuous Oppressor of the Black Community After centuries of unpaid labor, Black (or African American) citizens were finally able to enjoy the freedom that the United States brought. However, this joy did not last long before the nation’s federal government legalized various discriminatory laws known as Jim Crow Laws. Despite the abolishment of these laws, the Black community continues to feel the negative effects instilled within them. Not only did the Jim Crow Laws hinder economic and educational opportunities, they also restricted African American communities from being able to cast votes and created an overall more discriminatory society for them to live in. By segregating both public and private property, Black people struggled …show more content…
Not only does a vote serve as a person’s voice, electing representatives who represent all the people’s issues and goals help modify the community for the better. Unfortunately, these opportunities were not given freely to African Americans. Jim Crow Laws implemented various types of tests and methods to deter Black people from voting. For example, before being allowed to register to vote, most southern state voting officials enforced that Black people “pass literacy tests or recite the Constitution” (Pendergast 121). This method was highly effective because the majority of African American people were not taught how to read or write during slavery and therefore did not pass. This meant that White elected officials were able to stay in power and continue to oppress the Black community. In other states, officials adopted a tactic called the “Grandfather Clause” which denied suffrage eligibility for whoever’s grandfather was not able to vote (McConnell 1). Regrettably, the Jim Crow Laws influenced much more than African American voting …show more content…
When millions of enslaved people were freed in 1865 by the 13th Amendment, most had no idea how to read or write. Those who were able to establish themselves by building homes, becoming educated, and creating businesses within a generation or two were harassed or killed by White mobs. One famous example is the 1921 Tulsa Massacre. Tulsa, Oklahoma was home to Greenwood Avenue, also known as “America’s Black Wall Street” (Parshina-Kottas 2). Within a matter of less than twenty-four hours, 27 million dollars worth of Black prosperity was stolen, burned, or destroyed. Many African Americans moved to Tulsa after the Civil War and carried dreams of self-owned businesses. Jim Crow Laws prevented African Americans from buying items from most White-owned businesses. In response, Greenwood residents created their own insular community which thrived from Black-owned businesses (Parshina-Kottas 4-6). The massacre started due to a rape accusation and a fight between a White and Black man. The mob begin to shoot, set fires, drop dynamite, and loot homes and businesses. The Black people who survived and attempted to rebuild on their land were rejected by insurance companies. Tulsa officials purposely ignored and hid what happened in Greenwood (Parshina-Kottas 10). Unfortunately, this was one of many instances that White mobs obliterated Black success. White people also placed social restrictions on the Black community, these
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.).
The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 was an extremely shocking and violent event in American history that unfortunately resulted in the absolute destruction of the prosperous African American neighborhood of Greenwood. In the book, "Death in a Promised Land: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921," Scott Ellsworth provides the readers with a comprehensive account of the not just the riot, but also its causes, and most importantly, its aftermath. The author shifts his focus throughout the book about the economic, political, and social factors that contributed to the extremely high tensions between the African American and white communities that were in Tulsa. By doing so, light can be shined on what many believe was the root cause of this atrocity. He also vividly
Even though the African American community, Greenwood, had many successful African Americans. It seems as if the white people of Tulsa were jealous of successful the people of Greenwood were becoming. “They figured the Negroes in Greenwood were getting too uppity, and if there was one thing a white could not tolerate then, it was an uppity nigger” The only way to take them down would be destroying the community, homes and the lives of the people who lived in Greenwood. That is what they did, the killed and destroyed the community.
The deadliest race riot in the United States occurred between May 30 and June 1, 1921. The city of Tulsa grew from 10,000 to 100,000 in just 11 years (3.) Down town Tulsa offered all white residents anything from furniture stores to speakeasies (3.) Segregation forced African Americans to create their own community. This community was known as Greenwood or "The Black Wall Street" (2.)
The focus of this study is on the 1921 Tulsa, Oklahoma race riot. Although there was a major impact on the entire community, this paper will only focus on the riot’s impact on the “black” community and the local government’s actions in response to the impact. I will evaluate the extent of which the local government’s response to the race riot of 1921 increased the negative effects on the black community. I will compare the records the Red Cross, the National Guard, and other groups to find consistency between the recorded death tolls and other relevant information. Then, I will compare an interview with Olivia Hooker, a survivor of the riot, to online sources to better understand the social climate which the local government was operating
Max Abrahams US History April 18, 2023 Thesis Essay Tulsa Race Massacre Tulsa was home to over 10,000 black residents, Tulsa was a thriving community of commerce and family. Tulsa got the name Black Wall Street due to it being one of the wealthiest black communities in the United States. America's Black Wall Street did not last long, over 100 years ago on May 21, 1921, a heavily armed white mob of looters and arsonists came to Tulsa and caused absolute terror.
The Tulsa Massacre of 1921 was a tragic event in American history in which a white mob attacked and destroyed the thriving Greenwood District, also known as “Black Wall Street”, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The event resulted in the deaths of hundreds of African American residents and the displacement of thousands more. This massacre was a direct result of tensions breaking after the Great Migration, a movement of approximately six million African Americans from the southern to Midwest and Northeastern states. Effects of the Great Migration led to an enormous cultural and social change in the midwest and northeastern states, as the African American population increased by over 40% the culture in states like Oklahoma changed drastically. However, this increase in the population caused competition in the job market to increase, and as tensions rose, anger from the racist white community was directed toward people of color.
The center of African-American life was more than 11,000 black residents lived was in the neighborhood of Greenwood, Tulsa. There were 108 black owned business, 2 theaters, 2 black school, and 15 doctor’s office. This neighborhood was nationally recognized. (Tulsa Race Riots) Then one day a 19-year-old shoeshine boy named Dick Rowland went up and elevator to use the bathroom in a downtown building.
African Americans most notably have disparate figures in wealth in contrast to white Americans. In 1920 in a neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, however, the wealth gap was hardly visible. In Greenwood, African Americans developed their own community that was enriched with Black-owned stores and economic prosperity. In 1921, Greenwood’s Black neighborhood was bombed, burned, looted, and destroyed along with its wealth and history in it. Today, it is known as the Tulsa Race Massacre.
“In 1919, seventy-six blacks had been lynched, which was the worst toll in fifteen years”. (Boyer et al, 2014) When white Tulsans heard of the gathering, they decided to congregate at the courthouse. Soon enough, shots were fired from an occupant’s gun and the riot
In today’s time, we still see racism in many forms like the 1920’s riots and court rulings. One of the riots in the 1920’s that have some of the same purposes as today’s riots is the “Tulsa Riot”. The Tulsa Riot was said to
African American history is often dampened in order to protect the sensitivity of surrounding individuals, yet one instance that cannot physically be dampened due to its long-lasting effects would be the Tulsa Race Massacre. Today, African Americans make up the 25% poorest group in the United States while simultaneously being only 13% of the U.S population (Census), yet there was a time when even Black people had their own “Wall Street” utopia. After this devastating annihilation of human beings, the Tulsa Race Massacre revealed a generational indignant mindset towards Black people, a failure of intergenerational wealth, and severe decline in home ownership. Early 1921 was a significant time for the Tulsa population; while there was still
“After the massacre, Greenwood was uninhabitable. Former residents lived in Red Cross tents for months, through the freezing winter.” (The history of the Tulsa race massacre that destroyed America’s wealthiest black neighborhood). This area of Tulsa was one of the most wealthy black areas in the United States and within just hours it was all burnt to
The rising rents in segregated areas along with the resurgence of the once dormant KKK enflamed this tension and led to a period known as “the greatest period of interracial strife in U.S. history at that time...” (1) A wave of riots broke out with one of the most serious being the “Chicago Race Riot of 1919.” The main impetus of these riots was when on July 27, 1919 an African-American teenager was stoned and drowned by a group of white youth for violating what whites called the segregation of Chicago beaches and, the refusal of the police to arrest the white man identified by eyewitnesses as causing it. Enduring for a period of 13 days, this riot left 38 people dead, 537 injured and 1,000 black families without homes.