The history of racial violence in the United States of America is extensive and complex, woven through centuries of dehumanization and bigotry. From the days of chattel slavery to the Jim Crow era to the modern day Black Lives Matter movement, racism towards African Americans throughout American history is displayed in a variety of ways. One such example of the social terror that African Americans experienced was that of the race riots of the late 19th and 20th centuries. This essay will explore one of the most prominent examples of race riots: the Tulsa Race Massacre, its details, and the social and historical context that led to the tragedy. The Tulsa Race Massacre took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma between May 31 and June 1, 1921, with the violence centred in Tulsa’s Greenwood district. The Greenwood district was …show more content…
Furthermore, the prevalence of lynchings and race riots increased racial tensions, thus creating the foundations for what would occur in Tulsa in 1921. To this day, there is an absence of accurate information surrounding the events in Tulsa, and the lack of a consensus on the total death toll of the Tulsa Race Massacre led to excavations in search of mass graves nearly a century later, in the summer of 2020. Excavation efforts are still ongoing, with at least ten coffins discovered, constituting at least one mass grave and potentially many more to be found. At this time, survivors of the riot have yet to receive financial reparations for the complete destruction of their community. The black community of Tulsa sought justice for the economic loss, loss of generational wealth, and the generational pain the massacre caused. Whether that was financial compensation or a simple acknowledgment of the atrocities committed, the fight for reparations is still an ongoing struggle for