Tulsa Race Massacre Dbq Essay

Tulsa DBQ

The Tulsa Race Massacre is an event in American history that highlights how much words can define the understanding of an event. Our understanding of the events of the Tulsa Massacre has changed over time and allowed us to fully understand that it was not a riot as people first claimed it was, but a massacre. Our understanding grew not just through the words we used to describe this event, but also grew through our new understanding of the events that led to the Tulsa Massacre.

One way we’ve redefined our understanding of the events of the Tulsa Massacre is by looking at the causes of the event and changing our perception of what led up to the massacre. In source SQ1-A, the source is about how the Great Migration affected the events

In SQ1-B it states, “Under this racist belief system, white were hard-working, smart, and morally advanced, while black people were dumb, lazy, childlike, and uncivilized” (SQ1-B). According to the Equal Justice Initiative, it became rooted in the minds of individuals, laws, and institutions. This led to the idea being perpetuated throughout history and into the ideas of the communities in Tulsa. Document SQ1-C is a map depicting the lynchings and race riots across America in 1919. Using this map, it can be seen that 25 race riots and lynchings occurred between the spring and fall of 1919. According to the map, Tulsa is located near some of the states with the highest amount of race riots and lynchings which likely led to the increase in frustration and anger and eventually the massacre. Another example of the deep-seated racism at that period was the parade by the Klu Klux Klan in 1925. This parade showed how the racist ideas and beliefs at the time were very widespread with lots of influence. The number of people present at the parade signified how much people believed in the superior race and that being racist to the Black community was okay. This is likely why the tension grew so much in Tulsa that it eventually became the massacre we know

Reading the resources from documents SQ3-J to SQ4-R, the words found within the articles can be seen to change. In the articles from 1921, the words used were words like, “assault” (SQ3-K), “attacked” (SQ3-J), and “rape” (SQ3-K). These words were all used with the large negative connotation associated with them in mind. They were used to try and portray the actions of a Black man in Tulsa as that of an attack and attempted rape on a White woman in an elevator. He was arrested and this event is part of what sparked the massacre in Tulsa. As Black men marched to protect the prisoner, named Dick Rowland, while White men marched to try and murder him. The words used in articles in 2022 are vastly different and paint a much clearer picture of the events that night. Articles written in the modern day make sure that the full picture is made clear and that the evidence is presented in an unbiased way that proves that the march of the White community against the black community was uncalled for and was the result of years of tension and growing distrust between the two communities. Although we have started talking about the events of the massacre in a more open light in the modern day, there was a time in which the Tulsa Massacre was covered up and the local government attempted to keep silent on all matters regarding the massacre (Parshina-kottas et al.