After months of stalling, the US Department of Justice finally agreed to investigate the Tulsa Race Massacre, in 1921. Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General made this bold declaration on October 2. This investigation would include a proper review of how hundreds of people were killed.
102 years ago today, white supremacists backed by the US National Guard attacked the self-sufficient Black community in Greenwood, Tulsa, Oklahoma. The "Tulsa Race Massacre" was one of the darkest chapters in the history of racial violence against the Black population in the US🧵 pic.twitter.com/KvjQHvsvy5
— red. (@redstreamnet) May 31, 2023
Tulsa Race Massacre Under DOJ Review for the First Time in U.S. History
On May 31, 1921, a host of white attackers invaded Tulsa where they ended the lives of about 300 people. Reportedly, victims of the mass killings were mostly blacks. Following the tragedy in Tulsa’s Greenwood area, the site was named “Black Wall Street.” It is believed that the massacre was a result of an assault perpetrated by a black man on a white woman. As history would have it, the retaliation was over the top. Apart from the destruction of lives, businesses were destroyed and buildings burnt.
In recent months, these women have sought justice for the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. Attorney Damario Solomon Simmons representing the survivors confirmed that they know only 10% of what happened. First, they call on the authorities for justice. But they also want to establish who the perpetrators are. Since it is impossible to afford private attorneys, they look to the US Department of Justice.
But in July, a judge in the Oklahoma Supreme Court flung out their lawsuit. However, more than two months later, Per NBC News, Clarke affirmed their case would be heard. According to the Attorney General, an in-depth review will be conducted into the Tulsa race massacre of 1921. Upon completion, the US Department of Justice will send out a report highlighting modern and previous existing civil rights. The Department of Justice will be backed by the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. Under this act, they are allowed to review civil rights crimes that led to deaths before December 1979.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
The Justice Department announced Monday it plans to launch a review of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, an attack by a white mob on a thriving Black district that is considered one of the worst single acts of violence against Black people in U.S. history. https://t.co/E4XuCpCOLn
— News 4 Buffalo (@news4buffalo) September 30, 2024