The 100th anniversary of the Tulsa massacre of May 31-June 1, 1921 is being revisited after a century of having been largely buried.
The very few remaining survivors help make that happen because, for a little while longer, are direct connections to the massacre.
According to the Associated Press, “More than 35 city blocks were leveled, an estimated 191 businesses were destroyed, and roughly 10,000 Black residents were displaced from the neighborhood where they’d lived, learned, played, worked and prospered.
“Although the state declared the massacre death toll to be only 36 people, most historians and experts who have studied the event estimate the death toll to be between 75 and 300. Victims were buried in unmarked graves that, to this day, are being sought for proper burial.”
As we lose people whose testimony affirms the story, there is concern that it can be buried again. That is the power of witnessing and of 100-year anniversaries.
National Public Radio reviews three documentaries about the Tulsa massacre.
They are:
- The History Channel: “Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre,” showing May 31
- PBS: “Tulsa: The Fire And The Forgotten” showing May 31
- National Geographic Channel: “Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer” showing June 18
“100 Questions and Answers About African Americans” is available from Amazon or the Front Edge Publishing bookstore.
