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Effects Of The Tulsa Race Massacre

1250 Words5 Pages

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 Massacre left a lasting impact on African American communities in Tulsa and the descendants of those affected by the massacre, …show more content…

Of course, the trauma from the massacre was not just physical or social but also included economic trauma as mentioned previously, and additionally trauma through the lost sense of security those in Greenwood may have had. Survivors of the massacre and their descendants often face lifelong issues such as PTSD, anxiety, depression, and trauma throughout generations as the experiences spread and similar events continue to happen. A newspaper published by The Black Dispatch explained that “The violent outburst of passion at Tulsa last week which resulted in wholesale murder … gives us all a horrible warning that we are living and moving on a thin brittle crust”. This quote describes that the situation after the massacre left the living victims with a permanent fear of that “thin brittle crust” breaking and causing another massacre or similar event. Moreover, the social trauma additionally caused the ongoing segregation and marginalization of African Americans in Tulsa to increase, further limiting access to resources. Despite previous and ongoing efforts, some survivors and the descendants of those survivors still face the long-term impacts of the massacre, highlighting the additional need to prevent any similar situations. One survivor, John Alexander, explained that “… when I’m asked whether I favor reparations, I say yes, I certainly do!” Alexander then goes on to explain that since the Japanese Americans “got reparations for their suffering during World War II, we black survivors deserve it for our suffering in 1921”, which could not be truer. America must continue to recognize its mistakes that were made in the past and pay reparations to those that deserve

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