1996- Remembering the Tulsa Massacre: 75 Years
Spectre of Hate
The Oklahoma City bombing was a rude awakening over for the United States after years of a dreamy peace and state of ease, at least as a reminder that there were still plenty of issues to be confronted at home. It was difficult to believe at first. After all, For over the past 15 years, the American economy has healed and improved nicely, social welfare has expanded to assure quality healthcare for all Americans, infrastructure is being as urban planning has shifted to ecological mindfulness and further attention is being paid to rural areas. For many people, what was there to be upset about? Yes, not everything is perfect, but even the less fortunate like the poor and homeless have been getting help, such as New York's public housing plan revitalized and spreading across the union, which is helping it. Of course, sometimes it was not a matter of external issues, but internal ones. One of the focused aspects of the Oklahoma City bombing that would get attention would be regarding the sympathies of the terrorists, namely their bent toward white nationalism.
Racial tensions have decreased noticeably over the past couple decades. This was the result of various factors such as communities coming together, the end of the War on Drugs and reversing the harmful policies and even attempts at addressing some of the systemic issues there. While there were more than a few close calls, the greater focus on peaceful solutions and helping others promoted by Udall and later Askew would help to avert any major disasters. That said, there was still some problems that were had such as certain violent cops along with others. However, the idea of such people being motivated by an ideology carried by the Nazis and still being torchbeared to the day was seen as shocking. However, various pundits in discussion would also look back and note the trend of some previous close calls and similar groups, looking at the similarities. It was a problem that had been festering slowly and smally, but still surprising that they would still be around. The incident with the Montana Freemen had also shined a light on these groups, beng put over for domestic watchlists.
Reasons were scattered for this. Some believed it was the result of isolation of certain rural communities. After all, most of these happened in small towns that would be mostly insulated from te outside. Rural America certainly wasn't neglected by federal policy, especially Udall's push for assistence there regarding healthcare and the like and indeed, many people moving in would find work in the growing hospitals and healthcare centers opened there among other places. Others believed that it was the remains of older movements that were not addressed, like the remnants of the KKK. The organization had been added back to watchlists in federal and state governments, especially in trying to deal with their splinter groups. Regardless though, it was the United State beginning to confront or readdress the various sordid issues and ghosts of the pasts that alot of people thought have been dealt with.
And it was one of these that Askew would confront over in Oklahoma.
The Ghost of Tulsa
Prior to ascending to the presidency, Reubin Askew was one of the New South governors, specifically of Florida. He was a massive supporter for school desegregation along with championing other issues such as tax reform and financial transparency. His time as Mo Udall's Vice President also influenced him; he would note that his time with managing the AIDS Crisis would have confront his biases toward SATMIN+ people and realize that they too were a suffering minority not unlike the African-Americans. He even noted that championing school desegregation while also opposing for queer people to become teachers was hypocritical and was something he apologized for, working to fix. This along with his intense sense of personal integrity made him well liked and respected among many people. During the time in looking over Oklahoma, he would be made aware of a certain scarcely-talked incident and something that would be of notable talks with Vice President Shirley Chisholm.
The Tulsa Massacre.
Taking place on May 31 and June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been deputized and given weapons by city officials, attacked black residents and destroyed homes and businesses of the
Greenwood District in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. [1]. The riot is is considered one of "the single worst incident of
racial violence in American history", and is believed to be one of the deadliest
terrorist attacks in the history of the United States. The attackers burned and destroyed more than 35 square blocks of the neighborhood – at the time one of the wealthiest black communities in the United States, known as "Black Wall Street"[1]
More than 800 people were admitted to hospitals, and as many as 6,000 black residents of Tulsa were interned in large facilities, many of them for several days. About 10,000 black people were left homeless, and property damage amounted to more than $1.5 million in real estate at the time (equating to $11.5 million in 1996) and $750,000 in personal property (equating to over $ 5.7 million on 1996.) Many survivors left Tulsa, while black and white residents who stayed in the city largely kept silent about the terror, violence, and resulting losses for decades. The massacre was largely omitted from local, state, and national histories.
Until now.
Confronting the Past
The decision to travel to Tulsa to discuss the tragedy was a massively shocking one, especially that alot had to be prepared soon. However, for Askew, it was viewed as the right thing to do. It was 75 years since the atrocity that would see plenty of destruction done, all in the name of resentment. It was something that not even most of the African-American community knew. As such, to hear of it and the President address it in a manner of sorrow and atonement caught alot of people off-guard. The report started several months prior and the preliminary report would indicate that the city had conspired with the mob of white citizens against black citizens.
And the larger evidence was in the "guests of honor", the assortment of elderly black citizens, suvivors of the tragedy. All arriving to share their story and discuss how things were. Historians, news reporters and pundits delivered various takes as more evidence was uncovered, stories were shared and plans with discussed on how to deal with all of this. The report that was established by President Askew would call for the following:
- Direct payment of reparations to survivors of the 1921 Tulsa race riot;
- Direct payment of reparations to descendants of the survivors of the Tulsa race riot;
- A scholarship fund available to students affected by the Tulsa race riot;
- Establishment of an economic development enterprise zone in the historic area of the Greenwood district; and
- A memorial for the reburial of the remains of the victims of the Tulsa race riot.[1]
Tulsa would become a very busy place over the next several weeks as tracking down survivors and descendents required the work of alot of people to prepare reparations. Many celeberties of color would chip to assist in with the development of the area along with arriving for their own reasons. For alot of people, it was confronting the horrid aspects of violence yet also a time to come together to rebuild and put these to rest. One notable instance would be the arrival of none other of Christopher Wallace, the hip hop star known as The Notorious B.I.G. meeting up and even doing a collab project alongside Tupac Shakur. This was significant in the music industyr as both were prominent figures in the so-called "East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry", noted between the feuds of the
New York City–based label,
Bad Boy Records and the
Los Angeles-based label,
Death Row Records. [2] While the rivalry had been deescalating in the past several months, the cooperation project along with reflection on past events helped to bury the hatchet between them.
As they put it, there was alot of violence already in the world. Why add more?
Ripple Effects
The discussion of Tulpa and the confrontation of past racial tensions caused alot more painful introspection (with one pundit equating to ripping off a bandaid all at once). And for many young people, it further stirred the fires of activism and the seeking of justice and reparation. For example, in some places in the Deep South, there was the unsettling realization of various locations and statues dedicated to Confederate leaders. To these new heralds of the young folk, they found this not just insulting, but also unpatriotic. Why were the leaders of traitors being venerated, especially with their rather open purpose of maintaining the institution of slavery.
Of course, these ripples also caused some backlash, from those that insisted the statues and memorials were part of history and tradition and thus could not be removed (which in turn got lampooned when it was pointed out that Germany lacked any statues of Hitler, so that logic failed). Some new politicians would legislate for the removal of them while other prominent figures would donate money to causes for removing such as, notably Ted Turner over in Georgia. Naturally, for those who had sympathies more toward the reactionaries, forceful confrontations were coming though the potential comparisons to the same sort of people as the Montana munafics or the Oklahoma City bombers caused instead introspection, doubt and second-guessing on the ideas they followed. Others would instead double down on them and would lead to increased security in various parts of cities or rural communities.
Tulsa itself and especially Greenwood see an increase in people moving and a large influx of cash for the sake of investing in it to help build it up. Some were even wanting to make it back into the "Black Wall Street" once more, though there was a complex relationship of the old folk and the new folk coming in.
This also played a part in dealing with some of the potential hate groups, especially as some believed this may out people who hid them, especially with the revelations that hate groups may attempt to infiltirate the military and police departments if not already done so with sympathetic members. All of these discussion points would be had in various parts of the US presidential election, with Arlen Spectre in particular taking on the "law and order" tone of ensuring the sanctity of American institutions, including harsher punishments for those associated with such groups along with reforms both to police and other handlings. Politically though, many were in support of the report regarding Tulsa if surprised by Askew even doing such a thing.
Some believed that this was done because Askew was nearing the end of his term and had nothing to lose from this. Others believed it was because it was the 75th anniversary. Regardless though, many took note of both Askew and Chisholm's prominent integrity throughout it all yet also the visibile and painful scars of age left upon them. It was something painful to confront yet a necessary one all the same.
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[1]- Information and phrasing from here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_massacre
[2]- Information and phrasing from here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Coast–West_Coast_hip_hop_rivalry