Tulsa: Justice Department reports on 1921 Massacre of Black citizens

We are, alas, in the deepest moment of denial about our history in my lifetime.  At 79 it is diffiuclt to accept that a man who has built his success on racist ppeals and innuendo will soon be President of the United States of America.

In 1955 a young Black student - 13. year old Emmett Till was lynched in Mississippi.  The murder was an important spur to the incipient civil rights movement.  The United States Supreme Court was shedding its shameful racism.  It had declared whites-only deeds unenforceable in Shelley v. Kraemer, and in 1954 declared racial segregation of school children to be a violation of the principles of equal protection of the law. https://www.nps.gov/till/learn/historyculture/index.htm

 Note: View Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke's remarks here.

The Justice Department issued a report today on the Tulsa Race Massacre. The report documents the department’s findings, made during its review and evaluation of the Tulsa Race Massacre, undertaken pursuant to the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Act. The Civil Rights Division previously announced it was undertaking this review during a Cold Case Convening held on Sept. 30, 2024.

“The Tulsa Race Massacre stands out as a civil rights crime unique in its magnitude, barbarity, racist hostility and its utter annihilation of a thriving Black community,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “In 1921, white Tulsans murdered hundreds of residents of Greenwood, burned their homes and churches, looted their belongings, and locked the survivors in internment camps. Until this day, the Justice Department has not spoken publicly about this race massacre or officially accounted for the horrific events that transpired in Tulsa. This report breaks that silence by rigorous examination and a full accounting of one of the darkest episodes of our nation’s past. This report lays bare new information and shows that the massacre was the result not of uncontrolled mob violence, but of a coordinated, military-style attack on Greenwood. Now, more than 100 years later, there is no living perpetrator for the Justice Department to prosecute. But the historical reckoning for the massacre continues. This report reflects our commitment to the pursuit of justice and truth, even in the face of insurmountable obstacles. We issue this report with recognition of the courageous survivors who continue to share their testimonies, acknowledgement of those who tragically lost their lives and appreciation for other impacted individuals and advocates who collectively push for us to never forget this tragic chapter of America’s history.”   

The report documenting the department’s findings on the Tulsa Race Massacre, examines events that occurred between on May 31 and June 1, 1921, when white Tulsans mounted a concerted effort to destroy a vibrant Black community, remembered today as Black Wall Street. During the massacre, hundreds of Black residents were murdered, their businesses and homes burned to the ground and their money and personal property stolen. Survivors were left without resources or recourse. In the aftermath, the City of Tulsa resisted offers of meaningful help to the victims and utterly failed to provide necessary aid or assistance, and efforts to seek justice through the courts foundered.

Despite the gravity of the department’s findings, it is clear that no avenue of prosecution now exists for crimes that occurred during the massacre — the youngest potential defendants would today be more than 115 years old, and the relevant statutes of limitations expired decades ago. Nevertheless, as the federal government’s first thorough reckoning with this devastating event, our review officially acknowledges, illuminates and preserves for history the horrible ordeals of the massacre’s victims. As antilynching advocate Ida B. Wells said, “The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.” This report aims to do just that.

The Nature of the Review...

A. Executive Summary4 On the night of May 31, 1921, a violent attack by as many as 10,000 white Tulsans5 destroyed the thriving Black community of Greenwood, Oklahoma—a prosperous area often referred to as “Black Wall Street.”6 The attack, which lasted into the afternoon of June 1, was so systematic and coordinated that it transcended mere mob violence. White men murdered hundreds of Black residents, burned businesses and homes to the ground, and left survivors without resources or recourse. In the aftermath, authorities failed to offer meaningful help, and efforts to seek justice through the courts foundered. Seeking to understand and acknowledge the scope and impact of the massacre, the United States Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, 7 recently announced that its Cold Case Unit would review the events of 1921. From the beginning of that effort, it has been clear that no avenue of prosecution now exists for these crimes— the youngest potential defendants would today be more than 115 years old, and the relevant statutes of limitations have long since expired. Nevertheless, as the federal government’s first thorough reckoning with this devastating event, our resulting review officially acknowledges, illuminates, and preserves for history the horrible ordeals of the massacre’s victims. The review, conducted by the Cold Case Unit in the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section, involved speaking with survivors and their families, examining firsthand accounts, and studying primary materials8 —including an investigative report from June 1921 by the Justice Department’s Bureau of Investigation, the precursor to the FBI.