1921 Tulsa Race Riot ...district court and Supreme Crt say 'file in 1923'

[bobbieinok]

this article has some background and info about court verdicts

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/sayitloud/weathersbee601

....

But the court ruled that if the descendants were going to make a claim, they should have done so before 1923, the year that the two-year statute of limitations expired. It also said that other avenues had opened up in the 1960s and 1980s for claims to be filed.

Tragically, this is a case in which the law doesn’t jibe with the realities that black people faced during those times. I mean, these black people were living in times when a white woman’s lie was all that racists needed to carry out mass lynchings and to destroy black homes. Had any one of them tried to sue Oklahoma or Tulsa in 1923, I’m sure they would have wound up twisting at the end of a rope.

And suggesting that claims could have been brought in the 1960s or 1980s by people who had lost their homes, or who had spent decades trying to recover financially and mentally from that trauma is to ignore black reality. Again.

Yet, what’s really outrageous here is that the riot survivors were forced to pursue their claims in court. Just as the state of Florida did in 1994 with the Rosewood Claims Bill –- a bill that allows for up to $150,000 to be paid to survivors of the 1923 Rosewood slaughter, a massacre in which angry whites killed hundreds of black people and left their town in ruins. Oklahoma could do something similar.

But it doesn’t appear that it will. Michael Hausfeld, one of the attorneys who was part of the riots survivors’ legal team, told the Post that they heard remarks by Tulsans such as “It’s time that you people let this rest.” (end)

I grew up in Tulsa (never heard about this in school) and am living here now. At work I heard people say that this was just stirring things up and getting people all upset.

The Tulsa Race Riot was perhaps the worst in US history; possibly as many as 300+ blacks were killed. 35+ blocks were burned; many churches and homes were destroyed. Half of the black population was put in internment camps at the fairgrounds; a black physician was killed whom the Mayo clinic called one of the best doctors in the country. Many blacks spent the winter of 21/22 in tents.

There is a seemingly valid claim that the area was bombed.

Until very recently there was little mention of this riot, even in black history books written primarily for blacks.

Check out info on the web; books are reliable, but some web articles are emotional, not factual.

[Occulus]

1. Holyshit.

I've never heard a single mention of this. Ever.

Thanks for posting this; I bet many people don't know a thing about it.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cooley Hurd]

5. Home of this ninny:

Mr. "I'm outraged at the outrage..." (re: Abu Ghraib)

:grr:

[salin]

3. I only became familiar with this horrific event

a few years ago when a friend introduced me through some of his research on the topic. How such a catastrophic event, remains hidden, is a very sad comment on the reality of the discipline of "History"... he who records history (or writes history books) shapes history (as it is known in the future.)

[Cooley Hurd]

4. Many people have never heard of this...

I caught a History Channel show about it a few years ago, and was utterly SHOCKED that I hadn't heard of it - and I LIVED in Tulsa before (1989-1990)!

Here's a link to purchasing the History Channel program:
http://store.aetv.com/html/product/index.jhtml?id=42346

<snip>
In 1921, the Tulsa, Oklahoma neighborhood of Greenwood was one of the most affluent all-black communities in America. Known as the "Black Wall Street," it covered 40 square blocks and boasted more than 600 businesses and 15,000 residents.

THE NIGHT TULSA BURNED tells the long-buried tale of the tragic hours that brought Greenwood to a fiery end, and the misunderstanding that prompted the violence. The story is told through the testimony of survivors and hundreds of photos from the Tulsa museum that show Greenwood before and after the horror. It started when a white elevator operator accused 19-year-old Greenwood resident Dick Rowland of assault. Angry mobs descended on the neighborhood and burned it to the ground, killing scores, injuring hundreds and destroying over 1,000 homes and businesses. Despite the fact that Rowland was later cleared of any offense, no one was ever charged with any wrongdoing, no reparations were ever made and accounts of the riot were literally cut out of the newspaper archives as Tulsa tried to erase accounts and memories of the events.
</snip>

[RoyGBiv]

6. Emotional, not factual ...

That's a good obvservation. Be very careful where your information about this comes from, no matter its slant. One among many tragedies regarding this incident is that what we can truly know of the facts is limited by the massive "cover-up of ignorance" that took place in the decades after it happened.

One note on that: the area was not "bombed" as we traditionally think of bombing. We're pretty sure a few (maybe just one) idiots with airplanes dropped some dynamite on or near rioters.

I have several books, articles, and even some primary evidence about the riots in my library. I'll post excerpts or a bibliography if anyone would like it.