Bombs Over Tulsa?

 

Three centenarians testified at a House Judiciary Committee hearing this week and described the memories they had retained from their childhood of the Tulsa race riots a century ago. Testimony from Ms. Viola Fletcher, age 107, was described in the Washington Post: “I will never forget the violence of the White mob when we left our home,” Fletcher said. “I still see Black men being shot, Black bodies lying in the street. I still smell smoke and see fire. I still see Black businesses being burned. I still hear airplanes flying overhead. I hear the screams.”

There was quite a cover-up of this event which has been said to have killed as many as 300 or more Black citizens of the section of Tulsa called Greenwood. Thousands of homes, businesses, and civic buildings were burned in fires often spread by turpentine bombs dropped on the community from airplanes. Airplanes which were controlled by their neighbors! White mobs drove the fire department away when it attempted to put out some fires. As many as 10,000 people were displaced when this area, often called the Black Wall Street and home to many Black professionals and merchants, was torched over an unfounded rumor about a Black teen attacking an elevator operator. A lynch mob was turned away but then turned to attack the black citizenry when Black men, many veterans from World War l, showed up to guard the jail. After more than 24 hours of rioting, the Governor sent the National Guard in to quell the melee, but by then the damage was done. The prosperous community of Greenwood had been destroyed. Even after their homes had been destroyed, thousands of Black residents were arrested by the guard and kept at the fairgrounds under guard for several weeks. Now, one hundred years later, the area has never returned to its previous state of commerce and community.

Many newspaper and legal descriptions of the incident have been excised from archives or destroyed. Other descriptions put the blame entirely on the citizens of Greenwood. Many bodies were said to have been dumped in the river or collected in a mass unmarked grave.  Not long ago, another possible mass gravesite was located and is being investigated. The riot was not fully reviewed until after the 75^th anniversary when an investigatory commission was formed. (A cursory review was held in the aftermath and the Black community was blamed; the white police chief was faulted for not carrying out his duties effectively and he was fined and fired.) Until this day, no one has been held responsible for what will go down in history as the largest single-day massacre of Black people in US history.

The hearing in the Judiciary Committee looked at the possibility of paying reparations to those disrupted by the riots; few survivors remain from the event 100 years ago; many of that community scattered to other Black communities nearby, so reparations would not be an easy chore. Some of those who had had businesses tried to reconstruct them but by then, the structure no longer existed; the underpinnings of what made a community were shattered. Zoning laws were passed to prohibit homes of wood and allow only those which required steel structures, well beyond the budgets of many who had lived there. Some authorities advocated for a Train Depot to be placed there to move the Black community further from the center of the city. Even now, in the remnant of the rebuilt community, residents say the city and the federal government have constructed or planned highways that bifurcate their neighborhoods breaking up the continuity of blocks and districts.

The history of this massacre was not taught in Oklahoma schools, nor in my Massachusetts schools. Riots such as this and other smaller ones in other parts of the country were not mentioned where the middle classes were educated, for the most part. In Florida, for example, smaller riots in Rosewood and Ocoee in 1923 and 1920 respectively set the race tone for generations to follow in that state. Human Rights Watch has compiled a detailed history of the Tulsa Massacre which can be found here. They also suggest that international law implies that reparations should indeed be paid. Time will tell; I doubt that the Senate would approve any such plan even if one is passed by the House.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the death of George Floyd, many are asking if all the protests, marches, and pain shared over the last year has made any difference. That is why I looked back at Tulsa one hundred years ago. What have we learned? What things are different? What has stayed the same? How can incidents such as these be prevented? What can our society in general do?

Certainly, the Civil Rights movements and civil rights laws of the 1960s have made a difference; there has been an increase in educational and employment opportunities for all minorities. There have been more people moving out of poverty and into the middle class across all races when compared to 60 years ago, so some progress has been made. However, right now states are trying to roll back voting rights which were earned with the blood and bruises from Civil Rights Marchers. Have we gone this far, only to be turned around? Since Black voters turned out in large numbers to defeat DJT and elect two Senators in Georgia, tremendous efforts are underway by the Republicans to prevent this voter surge from happening again. Racism still exists, even though it is being cloaked under voter fraud and free election covers.

Official cover-ups still exist. Remember the first police report about the death of George Floyd which claimed that he had suffered a medical emergency–it was quite different from the video shared by the bystanders. Consider the recent events in Louisiana where the State Police appear to have stopped a Black man (Ronald Green), tasered him, and then beat him to death while manacled, but brought him into the ER claiming that he had an accident in which he hit a tree with his car. This sort of fell apart when the ER Doc noticed taser dart points still in his body. Still, however, it took almost two years for the body camera video to be leaked about this incident and for the family to be notified.

The video is disturbing. I do not understand how law officers could do this to a person who was not even resisting arrest. To my knowledge, no charges have been filed against any of the involved troopers, although the FBI is said to be investigating. We, as a society, can and must do better, but it will take everyone to stand up and speak up when wrongs happen.

There were lots of other concerns in town this week but there is little time to discuss them now. Check back in next week where I will revisit the “tourist stop at the US Capitol on January 6^{th”,  “}stolen elections”, and other fairy tales promoted by the Far Right. The Supreme Court is looking at an abortion restriction law which it does not need to review as it clearly does not meet the parameters of Roe v. Wade. So here we go…!

*******************************************************************************************************

Covid news is good this week as the nation saw the lowest numbers in several months, both in cases and deaths.  Even India is starting to see some numbers begin to decrease. World-wide the case numbers have reached 166,939,900; death totals are 3,457,700. 39% of the US population is now fully vaccinated.  We still need more people to be vaccinated.  Currently, about 1.8 million people are being vaccinated daily. Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi are among the states with the lowest percentages of vaccinations. Maryland is reporting that 45% of its residents are fully vaccinated.

COVID Stats- NY Times:

US totals: Cases: 33,137,938. New cases: 25,318. Total Deaths: 589,517. New deaths: 563.

Maryland totals: Cases: 458,048. New cases: 521. Total deaths: 8,990.  New Deaths: 17.

********************************************************************************************************

Personal Note:  I have now written my revived blog posts every week for the last year. I do enjoy writing them and hope that I have added some insights and given context to events over the last year. If you like what I have to say, please sign up to follow these entries and share the link with your friends. If you have suggestions for topics to cover, please let me know. Thanks for staying with me over this last year. I look forward to continuing for another year and hope that you will come along!

Take a new look at the Panda cam here as he plays and plays.

‘Til next week – Peace!