Picture on Facebook

At first glance of the fb posting going around, I thought I’d better check it out. It seemed sensationalistic. The wiki and the report commissioned by the State of Oklahoma seem to support the fb post. So, when Wingnuts are claiming “Obama is coming for our guns.” are they projecting history onto the present? Is it all about “fear of slave revolt?” Now that whites on on schedule to be the minority in this country, do they fear retribution?

I’ll be honest, there are some very sad, graphic pictures in the commision report. I found it very difficult to read much further and eventually gave-up because of that sick feeling we get in the pit of our stomachs when faced with truth we don’t want to know. I had read enough to verify the facebook post.

I did scan the rest of the report and decided to bookmark for a time when I could take it all in. There is some very good history here and pictures of the time that are invaluable.

Tulsa Race Riot -wiki:

The Tulsa Race Riot was a large-scale, racially motivated conflict on May 31 and June 1, 1921, in which caucasians attacked the black community of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It resulted in the Greenwood District, also known as ‘the Black Wall Street’[1] and the wealthiest black community in the United States, being burned to the ground. During the 16 hours of the assault, more than 800 people were admitted to local hospitals with injuries, and more than 6,000 Greenwood residents were arrested and detained at three local facilities.[2] An estimated 10,000 blacks were left homeless, and 35 city blocks composed of 1,256 residences were destroyed by fire. The official count of the dead by the Oklahoma Department of Vital Statistics was 39, but other estimates of black fatalities have been up to about 300.[2]

… .

Having seen the armed blacks, some of the more than 1,000 whites at the courthouse went home for their own guns. Others headed for the National Guard armory at Sixth Street and Norfolk Avenue, where they planned to get guns and ammunition. The armory contained a supply of small arms and ammunition. Major James Bell of the 180th Infantry, had already learned of the mounting situation downtown and to the possibility of a break-in, took appropriate measures to prevent this. He called the commanders of the three National Guard units in Tulsa, who ordered all the Guard members to put on their uniforms and report quickly to the armory. When a group of whites arrived and began pulling at the grating over a window, Bell went outside to confront crowd of 300-400 men. Bell told them that the Guard members inside were armed and prepared to shoot anyone who tried to enter. After this show of force, the crowd withdrew from the armory.[2]

…

Numerous accounts described airplanes carrying white assailants firing rifles and dropping firebombs on buildings, homes, and fleeing families. The planes, six biplane two-seater trainers left over from World War I, were dispatched from the nearby Curtiss-Southwest Field (now defunct) outside of Tulsa.[18] White law enforcement officials later claimed the planes were to provide reconnaissance and protect whites against what they described as a “Negro uprising.”[18] But, eyewitness accounts and testimony from the survivors confirmed that on the morning of June 1, the planes dropped incendiary bombs and fired rifles at black residents on the ground.[18]

Several groups of blacks attempted to organize a defense, but they were overwhelmed by the number of armed whites. Many blacks surrendered. Others returned fire, and ultimately lost their lives. As the fires spread northward through Greenwood, countless black families continued to flee. Many were estimated to have died when trapped by the flames.
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Oklahoma Historical Society Resources has a PDF link to the report ins about 1/2 way down the page.

” In the 80 years hence, survivor, descendants, and a bereaved community seeks that administration in some action akin to justice. Tulsa’s race relations are more ceremonial — liken to a bad marriage, with spouses living in the same quarters but housed in different rooms, each escaping one an other by perpetuating a separateness of silence. The French political historian Alexis d’Tocqueville noted, ‘Once the majority has irrevocably decided a question, it is no longer discussed. This is because the majority is a power that does not respond well to criticism.’

… .
Reparations: It happened. There was murder, false imprisoment, forced labor, a cover-up, and local precedence for restitution. While the of fiscial damage was estimated at $1.5 million, the black community filed more than $4 million in claims. All were denied. How ever, the city commission did approved two claims exceed ing $5,000 ‘for guns and ammunition taken during the racial disturbance of June 1.’

More: The Tulsa Reparations Coalition has links to supporting documents: