1 00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: Happy Saturday, everybody. A few weeks ago, the TV series 2 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:09,200 Speaker 1: Watchman debuted and it opened with a depiction of the 3 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:13,000 Speaker 1: destruction of the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, And then 4 00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:15,920 Speaker 1: afterward there were a lot of folks talking on social 5 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: media about how, yes, this was a real event that happened, 6 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:23,400 Speaker 1: not an alternate history that had been concocted for this 7 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:26,920 Speaker 1: TV show. Greenwood was a black neighborhood that was destroyed 8 00:00:26,960 --> 00:00:29,800 Speaker 1: by a white mob during a period of mass anti 9 00:00:29,840 --> 00:00:32,640 Speaker 1: black violence. This was just two years after the wave 10 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:35,280 Speaker 1: of racist violence known as the Red Summer that we 11 00:00:35,320 --> 00:00:38,199 Speaker 1: also talked about earlier this year. So since there's been 12 00:00:38,280 --> 00:00:42,000 Speaker 1: so much talk about this event recently, we thought we 13 00:00:42,040 --> 00:00:50,080 Speaker 1: would share our July episode on the subject. Welcome to 14 00:00:50,080 --> 00:00:52,640 Speaker 1: Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production of I 15 00:00:52,760 --> 00:01:02,600 Speaker 1: Heart Radios How Stuff Works. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. 16 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: I'm Trab Wilson and I'm Frying. And today we have 17 00:01:06,680 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: another frequently frequently requested episode. Lots and lots of people 18 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:14,840 Speaker 1: have asked us to talk about the destruction of black 19 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,840 Speaker 1: Wall Street. Black Wall Street was a nickname for Greenwood, 20 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:22,760 Speaker 1: which was essentially a suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was 21 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,319 Speaker 1: destroyed in a race riot in nine So the name 22 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:29,840 Speaker 1: black Wall Street makes it sound kind of like it 23 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:33,399 Speaker 1: was a business district, but Greenwood was really a vibrant 24 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: neighborhood of businesses and homes and schools that even had 25 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: its own hospital. And race riot also makes it sound 26 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:44,880 Speaker 1: as though it was a fight instigated by people of 27 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:49,360 Speaker 1: more than one race. But while Greenwood's destruction was definitely 28 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,640 Speaker 1: the product of racial tensions, the actual event was a 29 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 1: whole lot more one sided than that. This all happened 30 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,760 Speaker 1: during a period of extreme racial tension in the United States. 31 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:05,720 Speaker 1: Race riots and lynchings and vigilante justice were really widespread, 32 00:02:05,840 --> 00:02:09,000 Speaker 1: and the Tulsa race riot was one of the deadliest 33 00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:13,360 Speaker 1: and most shocking events from this era, and yet a 34 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,960 Speaker 1: lot of people knew nothing about it until maybe twenty 35 00:02:17,080 --> 00:02:20,160 Speaker 1: or thirty years ago. It got brushed under the rug 36 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,359 Speaker 1: for a long time. And to set the scene, the 37 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 1: economy of Tulsa, Oklahoma, really boomed during the nineteen teens 38 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,280 Speaker 1: thanks to the discovery of oil in the area, and 39 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: the population in this area of Oklahoma grew very quickly, 40 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,080 Speaker 1: including an influx of African Americans, many of whom were 41 00:02:38,160 --> 00:02:40,200 Speaker 1: leaving the Deep South in the hope that they could 42 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: build a life in a less pressive environment, and so 43 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:47,720 Speaker 1: Tulsa's population actually grew tenfold in the span of ten years. 44 00:02:48,960 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: Also growing during this time in Tulsa were crime and lawlessness. 45 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:58,200 Speaker 1: A federal agent actually conducted an undercover investigation in April 46 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:02,960 Speaker 1: of nine and found quote, gambling, bootlegging, and prostitution very 47 00:03:03,040 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: much in evidence at the leading hotels and rooming houses. 48 00:03:06,320 --> 00:03:09,040 Speaker 1: The bell hoops and porters are pimping for women and 49 00:03:09,120 --> 00:03:13,519 Speaker 1: also selling booze. Regarding violations of the law, these prostitutes 50 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:16,400 Speaker 1: and pimps solicit without any fear of the police, as 51 00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:19,480 Speaker 1: they will invariably remind you that you are safe in 52 00:03:19,560 --> 00:03:23,320 Speaker 1: these houses. And that's where the quote ends. And in 53 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:26,920 Speaker 1: addition to that, automobile theft was so common that insurance 54 00:03:26,919 --> 00:03:30,840 Speaker 1: companies started just canceling all their policies in Tulsa. And 55 00:03:30,880 --> 00:03:34,639 Speaker 1: at the same time, the suburb of Greenwood was really flourishing. 56 00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: By there were about ten thousand African Americans living in 57 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 1: the Tulsa area, and the vast majority of them were 58 00:03:41,920 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: living in Greenwood. They fell all along the economic spectrum, 59 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: so you had everyone from doctors and investors worth hundreds 60 00:03:49,440 --> 00:03:52,160 Speaker 1: of thousands of dollars to families that were living in 61 00:03:52,200 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: extremely modest homes along dirt roads. Greenwood itself was simultaneously 62 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:03,480 Speaker 1: the product of segregation the black entrepreneurship. O. W. Gurley 63 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 1: and J. B. Stratford were two prominent African American investors 64 00:04:07,440 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 1: who really get a lot of credit for making the 65 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:13,320 Speaker 1: town what it was. In the early nineteen hundreds, Gurley, 66 00:04:13,440 --> 00:04:16,800 Speaker 1: who was a real real estate developer, bought some land, 67 00:04:16,960 --> 00:04:20,200 Speaker 1: plotted it out, and then sold it to other African Americans. 68 00:04:20,800 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 1: Stratford built a fifty four room hotel that was also 69 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:27,000 Speaker 1: home to a restaurant, a banquet hall, and other amenities, 70 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:29,920 Speaker 1: and Stratford's hotel was one of the largest black owned 71 00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: businesses in Oklahoma at that time. These and other businesses 72 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:37,240 Speaker 1: became the seeds of a really robust community that was 73 00:04:37,279 --> 00:04:42,160 Speaker 1: also deeply segregated from the rest of Tulsa UH. It 74 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 1: in a way and a lot of ways, was really 75 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,599 Speaker 1: self sufficient. It had two newspapers, the Tulsa Star and 76 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 1: the Oklahoma Sun. It also had its own library, branch, schools, hospital, theaters, 77 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 1: and lots of small businesses that were owned and operated 78 00:04:56,440 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 1: by the black community. There were also many many churches, 79 00:05:01,440 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 1: but most of its residents, while they were living and 80 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:07,719 Speaker 1: conducting almost all their business in Greenwood, worked for white 81 00:05:07,720 --> 00:05:10,799 Speaker 1: employers elsewhere in the city, and this was the case 82 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:13,760 Speaker 1: for a man important to our story by the name 83 00:05:13,800 --> 00:05:17,479 Speaker 1: of Dick Rowland. Dick Roland was a young black man 84 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:21,680 Speaker 1: who worked in a downtown building shining shoes. Restrooms at 85 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:24,480 Speaker 1: this point were segregated, and his workplace didn't have a 86 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 1: bathroom for black people, so his employer had arranged for 87 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:30,920 Speaker 1: him to use one that was on the top floor 88 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:35,000 Speaker 1: of the nearby Drexel Building. Sarah Page was a young 89 00:05:35,120 --> 00:05:39,080 Speaker 1: white woman who ran the Drexel Buildings elevator. An incident 90 00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:45,320 Speaker 1: passed between Roland and Page on May. Exactly what happened 91 00:05:45,400 --> 00:05:49,080 Speaker 1: is completely unclear. Her story changed at various points, and 92 00:05:49,120 --> 00:05:54,039 Speaker 1: there seems to be no testimony on record of Dick Rowland. However, 93 00:05:54,160 --> 00:05:56,600 Speaker 1: a clerk at a clothing store in the Drexel Building 94 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: thought he heard a scream and he saw Dick Roland 95 00:06:00,200 --> 00:06:02,960 Speaker 1: hurrying out of the building, and he called the police. 96 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:07,440 Speaker 1: The story that spread through Tulsa was that Dick Roland 97 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:10,800 Speaker 1: had either raped or tried to rape Sarah Page in 98 00:06:10,960 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 1: broad daylight in the elevator. Roland was arrested the next 99 00:06:15,120 --> 00:06:18,280 Speaker 1: morning and held on the top floor of the Tulsa Courthouse. 100 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,600 Speaker 1: The Tulsa Tribune, which was an afternoon paper, covered his 101 00:06:22,720 --> 00:06:25,279 Speaker 1: arrest on the thirty first, and reported his crime as 102 00:06:25,320 --> 00:06:29,320 Speaker 1: a physical attack, quote scratching her hands and face and 103 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:33,800 Speaker 1: tearing her clothes. The paper also reportedly published an editorial 104 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:37,920 Speaker 1: calling for Roland to be lynched. However, no original copies 105 00:06:37,920 --> 00:06:40,840 Speaker 1: of these articles exist. There are pieces torn out of 106 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:43,440 Speaker 1: the bound copies of the paper that were kept on record. 107 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 1: The text of the story reporting Roland's arrest is reprinted 108 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: from a ninety six Masters thesis. Yeah, there are multiple 109 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:56,520 Speaker 1: eyewitness testimonies of people who who saw these articles in 110 00:06:56,560 --> 00:06:59,599 Speaker 1: the newspaper, but the actual copies of the note of 111 00:06:59,600 --> 00:07:03,520 Speaker 1: the news paper no longer exists. Before we talk about 112 00:07:03,560 --> 00:07:06,600 Speaker 1: how this turned the scene at the courthouse to one 113 00:07:06,600 --> 00:07:09,160 Speaker 1: of a mob scene, let's take a brief moment for 114 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:20,800 Speaker 1: a word from a sponsor that sounds grand. By about 115 00:07:20,800 --> 00:07:23,440 Speaker 1: seven thirty in the evening on May the thirty one, 116 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:26,720 Speaker 1: a lynch mob had started to gather outside the Tulsa 117 00:07:26,840 --> 00:07:30,400 Speaker 1: Courthouse and the mob was demanding that Roland be turned 118 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:34,720 Speaker 1: over to them. The sheriff refused to do this, and 119 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:37,840 Speaker 1: word spread to the Greenwood district about what was going on. 120 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:40,800 Speaker 1: People were positive that Roland was going to be lynched. 121 00:07:40,920 --> 00:07:44,240 Speaker 1: There had been thirty three recorded lynchings in Oklahoma between 122 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:45,920 Speaker 1: the time it had been declared as a state in 123 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:50,000 Speaker 1: nineteen o seven and n and seven of the victims 124 00:07:50,040 --> 00:07:52,800 Speaker 1: of those lynchings had been black. They also had ample 125 00:07:52,840 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 1: reason to doubt that the courthouse was a secure place 126 00:07:55,760 --> 00:07:58,200 Speaker 1: to keep Roland safe. There had been a couple of 127 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,400 Speaker 1: really dramatic jail breaks from the courthouse in the months 128 00:08:01,480 --> 00:08:04,800 Speaker 1: leading up to this event, and the black community was 129 00:08:04,880 --> 00:08:07,720 Speaker 1: quite positive that if they did not protect Roland, no 130 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:10,840 Speaker 1: one would, and that he was going to be lynched. So, 131 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:13,560 Speaker 1: with all of that in mind, about twenty five African 132 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:16,920 Speaker 1: American residents, many of whom were veterans of World War One, 133 00:08:17,560 --> 00:08:20,560 Speaker 1: armed themselves and went from Greenwood to the courthouse to 134 00:08:20,640 --> 00:08:25,160 Speaker 1: offer their assistance in defending him. The sheriff refused and 135 00:08:25,320 --> 00:08:28,160 Speaker 1: insisted that Roland was safe, and so the men went 136 00:08:28,200 --> 00:08:33,160 Speaker 1: back to Greenwood. However, the arrival of twenty five armed 137 00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:35,559 Speaker 1: black men on the scene really stirred up a lot 138 00:08:35,600 --> 00:08:39,080 Speaker 1: of fear and anger among the white mob outside the courthouse. 139 00:08:39,880 --> 00:08:42,360 Speaker 1: Word got to Major James A. Bell of the National 140 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:45,200 Speaker 1: Guard that things were starting to look really ugly, and 141 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 1: even though the sheriff told him things were okay, he 142 00:08:47,679 --> 00:08:50,000 Speaker 1: quietly sent word to the other National guardsmen in the 143 00:08:50,040 --> 00:08:53,640 Speaker 1: area to come down to the armory. This was fortunate 144 00:08:53,720 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 1: because some of the mob from the courthouse then went 145 00:08:56,679 --> 00:08:59,440 Speaker 1: to the armory to try to get rifles and ammunition 146 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:02,480 Speaker 1: for themselves elves, and they were stopped by the National 147 00:09:02,520 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 1: Guard members that Major Bell had summoned. Tensions continued to 148 00:09:06,840 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 1: grow for another couple of hours. The crowd at the 149 00:09:09,840 --> 00:09:13,960 Speaker 1: courthouse got bigger and bigger. Small groups of Greenwood residents 150 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:17,880 Speaker 1: started patrolling the streets, armed both as recon and to 151 00:09:17,920 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 1: try to show that Greenwood was not entirely defenseless, and 152 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:24,400 Speaker 1: the white community began to fear that an uprising was imminent. 153 00:09:25,559 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 1: Soon rumor reared its head again. At about ten PM, 154 00:09:30,240 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: word got back to Greenwood that a lynch mob was 155 00:09:33,240 --> 00:09:36,240 Speaker 1: breaking into the courthouse, and so this time it was 156 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: about seventy five armed African American men who made their 157 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: way there to once again offer their aid in keeping 158 00:09:43,600 --> 00:09:48,520 Speaker 1: Roland safe. So again the sheriff refused their help, and 159 00:09:48,559 --> 00:09:50,960 Speaker 1: as they turned to go back to Greenwood, one of 160 00:09:50,960 --> 00:09:53,319 Speaker 1: the white men tried to disarm one of the black men, 161 00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:57,000 Speaker 1: and in the ensuing scuffle, a shot was fired. It 162 00:09:57,120 --> 00:10:00,560 Speaker 1: was this spark that started the riot in Earnest. More 163 00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:02,920 Speaker 1: shots were fired in front of the courthouse, with as 164 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:06,120 Speaker 1: many as a dozen people being killed there, and as 165 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:10,080 Speaker 1: the dust settled, the black men, who were vastly outnumbered, 166 00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:13,480 Speaker 1: began falling back to Greenwood in a fighting retreat, with 167 00:10:13,559 --> 00:10:17,440 Speaker 1: the white mob in pursuit. Once the men were back 168 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:21,640 Speaker 1: in Greenwood, things continued to get worse. Car loads of 169 00:10:21,679 --> 00:10:24,839 Speaker 1: white men started driving through black neighborhoods, just shooting and 170 00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:28,480 Speaker 1: discriminately into houses and at people on the street. White 171 00:10:28,520 --> 00:10:32,320 Speaker 1: vigilantes also broke into downtown Tulsas sporting goods stores to 172 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,800 Speaker 1: steal guns and ammunition. Others went to some of the 173 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:38,920 Speaker 1: white neighborhoods all night cafes and started a plan to 174 00:10:39,000 --> 00:10:43,480 Speaker 1: invade Greenwood the next morning. The law enforcement's action at 175 00:10:43,480 --> 00:10:48,000 Speaker 1: this point and Tulsa was to begin deputizing people, including 176 00:10:48,080 --> 00:10:52,800 Speaker 1: members of the original lynch mob. Soon the national Guard 177 00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 1: was ordered to aid local authorities. They did this by 178 00:10:56,160 --> 00:10:58,920 Speaker 1: setting up a perimeter around the northern edge of Tulsa's 179 00:10:58,920 --> 00:11:02,240 Speaker 1: white neighborhood to send it against a counter attack, a 180 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:07,839 Speaker 1: counter attack which never actually happened. People started setting fires 181 00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:11,160 Speaker 1: in Greenwood at about one am, and then the mob 182 00:11:11,400 --> 00:11:14,680 Speaker 1: prevented the fire department from trying to put the fires out, 183 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:19,200 Speaker 1: so the fires spread really rapidly. Throughout the night. Both 184 00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:22,840 Speaker 1: the National Guard and local law enforcement wound up responding 185 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 1: to false reports of shots fired by black people in 186 00:11:25,520 --> 00:11:28,800 Speaker 1: white neighborhoods all over Tulsa, and they were doing this 187 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:31,560 Speaker 1: rather than responding to the real reports of violence and 188 00:11:31,720 --> 00:11:34,560 Speaker 1: arson that we're going on in Greenwood. At one thirty 189 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:37,320 Speaker 1: six am, the Chief of Police sent a telegram to 190 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:41,760 Speaker 1: the state capitol which read race riot developed here, several killed, 191 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 1: unable handle situation, Request that National Guard forces be sent 192 00:11:46,400 --> 00:11:50,920 Speaker 1: by special train. Situation serious. This telegram was signed by 193 00:11:50,920 --> 00:11:53,320 Speaker 1: the Chief of Police, the sheriff, and a district judge. 194 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:56,840 Speaker 1: A train was scheduled to leave Oklahoma City bound for 195 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 1: Tulsa at five am that morning, carrying about one hundred 196 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:04,760 Speaker 1: additional National Guard troops. During the night, a lot of 197 00:12:04,840 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 1: Greenwood residents stayed behind to try to defend their homes 198 00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: and businesses, but many others fled. They took cards, taxis, 199 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:15,680 Speaker 1: and other transportation north out of the city. Greenwood was 200 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:18,080 Speaker 1: on the northern side of Tulsa, so the smith that 201 00:12:18,120 --> 00:12:20,240 Speaker 1: they didn't have to go back through Tulsa to try 202 00:12:20,280 --> 00:12:23,560 Speaker 1: to get away. Some people were able to take refuge 203 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:27,760 Speaker 1: with their employers or other compassionate citizens on the Tulsa 204 00:12:27,880 --> 00:12:30,760 Speaker 1: side of town, but a lot of people were really 205 00:12:30,840 --> 00:12:35,160 Speaker 1: left mostly defenseless. Before the sun came up on June one, 206 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,199 Speaker 1: an armed mob had gathered around the fringes of Greenwood. 207 00:12:38,679 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 1: Some of them were carrying weapons that had been provided 208 00:12:41,040 --> 00:12:44,920 Speaker 1: to them by public officials. In addition to the deputized 209 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:47,199 Speaker 1: members of the lynch mob, some of this crowd were 210 00:12:47,240 --> 00:12:51,760 Speaker 1: uniformed police officers and members of the National Guard. There 211 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: are also multiple eyewitnessed reports of airplanes in the skies 212 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:59,040 Speaker 1: over Greenwood as their riot went on, although exactly what 213 00:12:59,160 --> 00:13:02,200 Speaker 1: was done from airplanes is a little harder to substantiate. 214 00:13:02,240 --> 00:13:04,760 Speaker 1: There are reports that bombs are dropped that there's not 215 00:13:04,840 --> 00:13:07,600 Speaker 1: clear evidence to support that. It's pretty likely that there 216 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:11,440 Speaker 1: were definitely people firing their guns from the airplanes. Though 217 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 1: the train carrying the additional National Guard troops got to 218 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: Tulsa around nine fifteen am. These out of town troops 219 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:22,240 Speaker 1: became known as the State troops, and this helps differentiate 220 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:25,000 Speaker 1: them from the local National Guard that were part of 221 00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 1: the rioting. But by that point most of Greenwood had 222 00:13:28,040 --> 00:13:32,160 Speaker 1: already been burned to the ground. Martial law was declared 223 00:13:32,200 --> 00:13:35,760 Speaker 1: at eleven am on June one, although by then the 224 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,760 Speaker 1: riot had really mostly run its course. Once martial law 225 00:13:39,840 --> 00:13:43,280 Speaker 1: was declared, the state troops moved through Greenwood, putting out fires, 226 00:13:43,679 --> 00:13:46,160 Speaker 1: disarming the rioters who were still there, and forcing them 227 00:13:46,200 --> 00:13:49,720 Speaker 1: to go back to Tulsa. Order was restored around eight 228 00:13:49,760 --> 00:13:54,080 Speaker 1: pm on June one. The state troops also took custody 229 00:13:54,080 --> 00:13:57,240 Speaker 1: of African Americans who had been imprisoned by vigilantes during 230 00:13:57,280 --> 00:14:01,560 Speaker 1: the riot, but this was not exactly a rescue. The 231 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:04,480 Speaker 1: State troops took every black person they could find into 232 00:14:04,480 --> 00:14:08,320 Speaker 1: custody in a mass arrest. People who had fled the 233 00:14:08,360 --> 00:14:11,880 Speaker 1: city were detained when they returned. It was supposedly for 234 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:14,640 Speaker 1: people's own protection, but a clear part of the motivation 235 00:14:14,720 --> 00:14:17,920 Speaker 1: was the white community's ongoing fear of a black uprising. 236 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:21,920 Speaker 1: In the end, about six thousand African Americans were held 237 00:14:21,920 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 1: at the convention Hall, and when they ran out of 238 00:14:24,520 --> 00:14:27,040 Speaker 1: room there at the fair grounds in the ball field. 239 00:14:27,760 --> 00:14:30,320 Speaker 1: Some black citizens were held for more than a week. 240 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 1: No one was released until a white person could vouch 241 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:36,960 Speaker 1: for them and also take responsibility for their future behavior. 242 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:41,080 Speaker 1: So before we talk about the aftermath of this riot, 243 00:14:41,160 --> 00:14:52,560 Speaker 1: let's take another brief moment for a word from a sponsor. So, 244 00:14:53,120 --> 00:14:58,760 Speaker 1: in this riot, Greenwood was virtually destroyed. Thirty five city 245 00:14:58,760 --> 00:15:01,840 Speaker 1: blocks were burned to the ground, and at least eight 246 00:15:01,920 --> 00:15:06,560 Speaker 1: hundred people sustained injuries that had to be treated. One thousand, 247 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:10,000 Speaker 1: two hundred fifty six homes were destroyed, plus the hospital, 248 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:13,400 Speaker 1: the library, some of the schools, and both of the 249 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:17,320 Speaker 1: newspaper's offices. A couple of weeks after the riot, the 250 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:22,000 Speaker 1: Nation reported that the damages totalled one point five million dollars, 251 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:25,360 Speaker 1: although more recent estimates are multiple times higher than that. 252 00:15:26,880 --> 00:15:29,400 Speaker 1: And from the Tulsa Daily World the next day is 253 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:33,800 Speaker 1: this quote. Personal belongings in household goods had been removed 254 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:37,040 Speaker 1: from many homes impiled in the streets. On the steps 255 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:39,760 Speaker 1: of a few houses that remained sat feeble and gray 256 00:15:39,840 --> 00:15:43,360 Speaker 1: negro men and women, and occasionally a small child. The 257 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:46,080 Speaker 1: look in their eyes was one of dejection and supplication. 258 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:49,840 Speaker 1: Judging from their attitude, it was not of material consequence 259 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:53,400 Speaker 1: to them whether they lived or died harmless themselves. They 260 00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:56,760 Speaker 1: apparently could not conceive the brutality and fiendishness of men 261 00:15:57,120 --> 00:15:59,600 Speaker 1: who would deliberately set fire to the homes of their 262 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:03,360 Speaker 1: friends neighbors, and just as deliberately shoot them in their tracks. 263 00:16:04,640 --> 00:16:07,800 Speaker 1: Doctor Robert Bridgewater and his wife Maddie were two of 264 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:10,920 Speaker 1: the fortunate few to have had their homes spared by 265 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:13,560 Speaker 1: the fire, but they got to it to find that 266 00:16:13,600 --> 00:16:18,080 Speaker 1: their possessions had all been destroyed. Doctor Bridgewater wrote quote, 267 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: I saw my piano and all of my elegant furniture 268 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:24,080 Speaker 1: piled in the street. My safe had been broken open, 269 00:16:24,200 --> 00:16:27,800 Speaker 1: all of my money stolen, also my silverware, cut glass, 270 00:16:27,920 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 1: all of the family clothes and everything of value had 271 00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:35,160 Speaker 1: been removed, even my family bible, my electric light pictures 272 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:37,680 Speaker 1: were broken, all of the window lights and glass and 273 00:16:37,760 --> 00:16:41,480 Speaker 1: the doors were broken. The floors were covered literally speaking 274 00:16:41,560 --> 00:16:45,000 Speaker 1: with glass. Even the phone was torn from the wall. 275 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:49,040 Speaker 1: And there's actually a photo that's part of the historical 276 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:51,960 Speaker 1: record of this event, and it shows massive columns of 277 00:16:51,960 --> 00:16:55,600 Speaker 1: smoke rising from the Greenwood District. Written across it and 278 00:16:55,760 --> 00:17:00,680 Speaker 1: misspelled is running the Negro out of Tulsa. A photo 279 00:17:00,760 --> 00:17:02,720 Speaker 1: of the charred body of one of the victims was 280 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:08,080 Speaker 1: also used as a postcard. At the time, official estimates 281 00:17:08,080 --> 00:17:10,480 Speaker 1: put the death toll at nine white people and twenty 282 00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:14,480 Speaker 1: six black people, but pretty much immediately everyone knew that 283 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,880 Speaker 1: those numbers were way too low. We'll never really know 284 00:17:18,000 --> 00:17:20,880 Speaker 1: the official number because birth records at the time are 285 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:24,200 Speaker 1: incomplete and many of the African Americans who were killed 286 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:27,359 Speaker 1: were buried in unmarked mass graves or thrown into the 287 00:17:27,440 --> 00:17:32,240 Speaker 1: Arkansas River. Funeral Home records report burials of many people 288 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:35,800 Speaker 1: identified only as quote unknown Negro in the days after 289 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:40,080 Speaker 1: the riot. More recent investigations suggest that more like three 290 00:17:40,200 --> 00:17:43,720 Speaker 1: hundred people were killed, with the overwhelming majority of them 291 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 1: being African American, and the riot forced most of Tulsa's 292 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: African American population into homelessness. The city and its residents 293 00:17:52,600 --> 00:17:54,880 Speaker 1: made things hard on those who had lost their homes 294 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:58,240 Speaker 1: in the hopes of forcing people to resettle elsewhere. They 295 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:01,560 Speaker 1: even passed a fire ordinance cifically designed to keep people 296 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:05,480 Speaker 1: from rebuilding, although it was overturned as unconstitutional about four 297 00:18:05,560 --> 00:18:09,359 Speaker 1: years later. Even so, Tulsa's black community set to work 298 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 1: rebuilding Greenwood, but it was a slow process, so many 299 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:16,439 Speaker 1: of them spent the following winter living in tents. With 300 00:18:16,560 --> 00:18:19,399 Speaker 1: the exception of the Red Cross and white residents of 301 00:18:19,440 --> 00:18:23,000 Speaker 1: surrounding communities, the black community got very little help in 302 00:18:23,040 --> 00:18:26,640 Speaker 1: its rebuilding efforts. The city of Tulsa, as we mentioned, 303 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:32,920 Speaker 1: actively discouraged the rebuilding effort. On the legal end of things, UH, 304 00:18:33,080 --> 00:18:37,600 Speaker 1: Dick Roland's charges were ultimately dismissed. A grand jury convened 305 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:41,280 Speaker 1: to investigate what had happened UH, and they found Tulsa's 306 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:45,480 Speaker 1: black population responsible for the riot. About seventy black men 307 00:18:45,520 --> 00:18:48,000 Speaker 1: were charged with inciting the riot, although none of them 308 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:52,359 Speaker 1: were ultimately convicted. J. B. Stratford was one. He fled 309 00:18:52,440 --> 00:18:55,880 Speaker 1: Oklahoma for Illinois, eventually building a law practice in Chicago. 310 00:18:56,680 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 1: He died in five and in nine, allowing his family's 311 00:19:00,800 --> 00:19:03,000 Speaker 1: fight to clear his name, he was finally cleared of 312 00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:07,160 Speaker 1: all charges. No white person was ever tried for any 313 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:10,600 Speaker 1: of the murders or arsons that took place, or with 314 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:15,400 Speaker 1: any other criminal act associated with the riot. Immediately after 315 00:19:15,440 --> 00:19:18,439 Speaker 1: the riot, the event was international news, and in the 316 00:19:18,480 --> 00:19:22,240 Speaker 1: weeks that followed, papers across the US published scathing editorials 317 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:25,840 Speaker 1: condemning what had happened. Journalists called it both a disgrace 318 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:29,840 Speaker 1: and a horror. But then it really fell from view 319 00:19:30,040 --> 00:19:33,440 Speaker 1: for pretty much everyone who did not directly live through it. 320 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:37,080 Speaker 1: History books that were published in Oklahoma made no mention 321 00:19:37,119 --> 00:19:39,880 Speaker 1: of it for more than twenty years, and even then 322 00:19:39,960 --> 00:19:43,480 Speaker 1: it was very brief and glossed over. People began to 323 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:47,320 Speaker 1: investigate and write about this riot following the Civil rights movement, 324 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:49,920 Speaker 1: although the first people to blaze this trail were really 325 00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:54,280 Speaker 1: met with threats of violence. Eventually in the state of 326 00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:57,600 Speaker 1: Oklahoma formed a commission that was meant to investigate what 327 00:19:57,680 --> 00:20:01,760 Speaker 1: had happened and to create clear documentation of the riot. 328 00:20:02,760 --> 00:20:06,080 Speaker 1: The commission was also to make a recommendation of whether 329 00:20:06,560 --> 00:20:10,080 Speaker 1: reparations should be paid to the survivors and their descendants. 330 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:14,560 Speaker 1: Calls for reparations had actually started almost immediately after the 331 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:19,320 Speaker 1: riot was over. In Judge Loyal J. Martin, who had 332 00:20:19,320 --> 00:20:22,800 Speaker 1: been the mayor, said quote, Tulsa can only redeem herself 333 00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:25,800 Speaker 1: from the countrywide shame and humiliation into which she is 334 00:20:25,840 --> 00:20:30,359 Speaker 1: today plunged by complete restitution and rehabilitation of the destroyed 335 00:20:30,359 --> 00:20:33,399 Speaker 1: black belt. The rest of the United States must know 336 00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:36,639 Speaker 1: that the real citizenship of Tulsa weeps at this unspeakable 337 00:20:36,760 --> 00:20:39,199 Speaker 1: crime and will make good the damage so far as 338 00:20:39,200 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 1: it can be done to the last penny. The report 339 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:46,400 Speaker 1: of the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot 340 00:20:46,400 --> 00:20:50,360 Speaker 1: of one called the event quote late to be acknowledged 341 00:20:50,440 --> 00:20:54,159 Speaker 1: and still to be repaired, and the commission's report argued 342 00:20:54,240 --> 00:20:59,439 Speaker 1: really strongly in favor of reparations, including direct reparations paid 343 00:20:59,520 --> 00:21:02,640 Speaker 1: to the survivors who were still living in their descendants 344 00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:05,600 Speaker 1: at this point, though many of the people who had 345 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:08,360 Speaker 1: lived through the riot had died. When the commission put 346 00:21:08,359 --> 00:21:11,120 Speaker 1: out its final report, the riot was almost eighty years 347 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:14,240 Speaker 1: in the past, but still alive were the children and 348 00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:17,159 Speaker 1: grandchildren of the people who had survived the riot and 349 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:20,679 Speaker 1: of some people who had been killed. The state legislature 350 00:21:20,800 --> 00:21:25,399 Speaker 1: established scholarships, a memorial, and an economic development initiative for Greenwood, 351 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:28,919 Speaker 1: but it declined to make actual reparations to survivors and 352 00:21:28,960 --> 00:21:33,280 Speaker 1: their descendants. As sort of a side note, a lot 353 00:21:33,320 --> 00:21:37,000 Speaker 1: of articles about the Tulsa Race Riot and about the 354 00:21:37,040 --> 00:21:40,199 Speaker 1: destruction of what was known as Blackwall Street. Say that 355 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:43,640 Speaker 1: the riot was a result of clan activity, and while 356 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:46,760 Speaker 1: the Ku Klux Klan had been re established in Atlanta 357 00:21:46,840 --> 00:21:50,119 Speaker 1: in nineteen fifteen and it was definitely growing all around 358 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:53,879 Speaker 1: the United States, there's not really evidence to suggest that 359 00:21:53,880 --> 00:21:57,080 Speaker 1: the Ku Klux Klan specifically was active in Tulsa or 360 00:21:57,400 --> 00:22:01,760 Speaker 1: was part of the riot. However, one of the consequences 361 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:06,960 Speaker 1: or the ramifications after the riot was that the clan 362 00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 1: really started to flourish in Oklahoma once the riot was over. 363 00:22:12,040 --> 00:22:17,199 Speaker 1: We've had so many people request this particular subject, and 364 00:22:17,240 --> 00:22:20,439 Speaker 1: it's one that, unsurprisingly, based on having learned that it 365 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:24,080 Speaker 1: was so conscientiously not discussed for so many years, is 366 00:22:24,119 --> 00:22:26,600 Speaker 1: one that I was not really familiar with before doing 367 00:22:26,640 --> 00:22:29,440 Speaker 1: research on it. You and I have had several episodes 368 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,639 Speaker 1: where we had to stop recording because the material was 369 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:34,920 Speaker 1: upsetting and we needed to take a minute. And this 370 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:38,119 Speaker 1: is one where I had to stop researching because the 371 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:41,639 Speaker 1: material was upsetting and I needed to take like a 372 00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:45,920 Speaker 1: step away from it. Yeah, it's it's hard. I mean 373 00:22:47,160 --> 00:22:50,239 Speaker 1: I had to stop earlier while we were recording. I 374 00:22:50,280 --> 00:22:52,000 Speaker 1: know you and I had been talking about it while 375 00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:54,680 Speaker 1: you were researching, and you messaged me at one point 376 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:56,879 Speaker 1: where like, I can't handle this right now. It's a 377 00:22:56,920 --> 00:23:00,280 Speaker 1: lot to take in, and it's hard to think about 378 00:23:00,320 --> 00:23:05,520 Speaker 1: sort of the mob mentality and how hurtful uh and 379 00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:09,560 Speaker 1: sort of dispassionate these situations become where people stop thinking 380 00:23:09,560 --> 00:23:12,000 Speaker 1: about other people as people and they just get in 381 00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:17,000 Speaker 1: that mode of like violence right well. And there's also 382 00:23:17,200 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 1: a lot of ongoing controversy about the idea of reparations 383 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:24,200 Speaker 1: and when a government should pay reparations and how long 384 00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:27,280 Speaker 1: is too long, And this seems like a case where 385 00:23:27,400 --> 00:23:31,480 Speaker 1: there was a really clear case for reparations. It's argued 386 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:35,840 Speaker 1: really strongly in the Commission's report, because it wasn't just 387 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:39,760 Speaker 1: this happened. People's homes were destroyed. There's also the part 388 00:23:39,760 --> 00:23:42,040 Speaker 1: where the people who were meant to be protecting the 389 00:23:42,080 --> 00:23:47,120 Speaker 1: population were instead taking part in this violent activity. Uh. 390 00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:50,240 Speaker 1: People's insurance claims were not able to be paid out 391 00:23:50,280 --> 00:23:54,240 Speaker 1: because most insurance claims don't or most insurance companies don't 392 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:57,600 Speaker 1: offer coverage in the case of civil unrest, which this 393 00:23:57,800 --> 00:24:01,840 Speaker 1: counted as so uh. Uh. I think the thing that 394 00:24:03,119 --> 00:24:06,520 Speaker 1: shocked me most about it was in the face of 395 00:24:06,560 --> 00:24:10,359 Speaker 1: all that evidence. The final decision was still that that 396 00:24:10,520 --> 00:24:13,760 Speaker 1: direct reparations would not be paid to the survivors and 397 00:24:13,760 --> 00:24:22,600 Speaker 1: their descendants. Thank you so much for joining us on 398 00:24:22,640 --> 00:24:26,000 Speaker 1: this Saturday. If you have heard an email address or 399 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:28,280 Speaker 1: a Facebook you are l or something similar over the 400 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:30,960 Speaker 1: course of today's episode, since it is from the archive 401 00:24:31,080 --> 00:24:33,679 Speaker 1: that might be out of date now, you can email 402 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:36,720 Speaker 1: us at history podcast at how stuff Works dot com, 403 00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:38,920 Speaker 1: and you can find us all over social media at 404 00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:42,080 Speaker 1: missed in History, and you can subscribe to our show 405 00:24:42,200 --> 00:24:45,600 Speaker 1: on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, the I heart Radio app, 406 00:24:45,720 --> 00:24:52,560 Speaker 1: and wherever else you listen to podcasts. Stuff You Missed 407 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:54,920 Speaker 1: in History Class is a production of I Heart Radio's 408 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:57,879 Speaker 1: How Stuff Works. 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