
The Greenwood community of Tulsa, once thrived as a center of Black prosperity, suffered a devastating blow that has resonated through history with the horrific Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, a topic Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke recently addressed, issuing a lengthy report. In conjunction with the Justice Department, Clarke's remarks in Greenwood shed light on the long-overlooked atrocity, where "a violent attack by some 10,000 white Tulsans destroyed the thriving Black community in Greenwood," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Clarke expressed the actions of the white attackers, who were "far too organized to be called a mob," citing the brutality inflicted upon the Black residents of Greenwood—their homes set aflame, hundreds killed or wounded, with authorities confining the survivors to internment camps. The subsequent all-white grand jury's decision to blame the Black men attempting to prevent a lynching for the violence marked further indignity, all while broken promises of aid for rebuilding echoed through the attempts at seeking justice that would fail for decades. Clarke detailed how the department's team, led by Barbara Bosserman and Walt Henry, undertook the review, consulting books, articles, primary sources, and conducting interviews with survivors and descendants to piece together the factual happenings of that time, wherein it was found that the triggering event for the massacre centered around an alleged assault by a Black man on a white woman, which a local newspaper sensationalized, as detailed by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The review process, lasting just over three months, resulted in a 123-page meticulously sourced report; it unveiled a systematic and coordinated attack transcending mere mob violence, involving Tulsa police deputizing white residents with virtually no screening, as the team conversed with historians, journalists, and community members, unearthing new findings like a previously undiscovered 1921 investigative report from the Bureau of Investigation, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Notably, the team's interaction with the community was met with warmth and cooperation, "almost everyone they met was open, warm and eager to help," Clarke remarked. The historic Vernon AME Church offered a glimpse into the past, being the only part of the church to survive the massacre, and provided a tangible link to the once-flourishing community. The report clarified how at daybreak on June 1, white Tulsans, many who had drilled as the "Home Guard," instigated a destructive wave, leaving 35 city blocks in ashes and the community of Greenwood in devastation, and the Justice Department's acknowledgment of these facts marks a substantial move towards recognizing and understanding one of America's darkest moments of racial violence, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.