In FebÂruÂary 1915, Thomas Dixon, author of popÂuÂlar novÂel The ClansÂman, and D.W. GrifÂfith, the direcÂtor who adaptÂed the book into the film Birth of a Nation, lobÂbied then-presÂiÂdent Woodrow WilÂson for a screenÂing at the White House. The two were sure their stoÂry would get a warm recepÂtion from the “well docÂuÂmentÂed racist” and oneÂtime scholÂar who proÂduced a five-volÂume HisÂtoÂry of the AmerÂiÂcan PeoÂple, in which he porÂtrayed the South as “overÂrun by ex-slaves who were undeÂservÂing of freeÂdom,” as Boston UniÂverÂsiÂty jourÂnalÂism proÂfesÂsor Dick Lehr remarks.
Whether or not WilÂson actuÂalÂly uttered the words attribÂuted to him afterÂward (“It’s like writÂing hisÂtoÂry with lightÂning”), he approved the film’s mesÂsage and rebuffed Black leadÂers who were “appalled and outÂraged,” says Lehr. The moment was pivÂotal for the birth of the CivÂil Rights moveÂment, he argues in a recent book. FolÂlowÂing the country’s entry into World War I, it also lit the fires of what novÂelÂist, comÂposÂer and execÂuÂtive direcÂtor of the NAACP James WelÂdon JohnÂson called “Red SumÂmer”… a sumÂmer of lynchÂings, lootÂings, burnÂings, shootÂings and othÂer vioÂlence.
Mass lynchÂings — ignored or misÂconÂstrued as “race riots” for decades, though now propÂerÂly referred to as masÂsacres — took place all over the counÂtry between 1917 and 1923 under varÂiÂous preÂtexts, “in at least 26 cities,” Deneen Brown writes at NationÂal GeoÂgraphÂic, “includÂing WashÂingÂton, D.C.; ChicaÂgo, IlliÂnois; OmaÂha, NebrasÂka; Elaine, Arkansas; Charleston, South CarÂoliÂna; ColumÂbia, TenÂnessee; HousÂton, Texas,” and — the bloodÂiÂest and most destrucÂtive of them all — TulÂsa, OklaÂhoma, an event many learned about for the first time when the curÂrent presÂiÂdent proÂclaimed its 100th anniverÂsary, May 31st, a “Day of RememÂbrance.”
On May 31 and June 1, 1921, the mob who ramÂpaged through the TulÂsa neighÂborÂhood of GreenÂwood, a prosÂperÂous black comÂmuÂniÂty just a genÂerÂaÂtion removed from slavÂery, killed over 300 Black resÂiÂdents, “dumpÂing their bodÂies into the Arkansas RivÂer or buryÂing them in mass graves. More than a hunÂdred busiÂnessÂes were destroyed, as well as a school, a hosÂpiÂtal, a library, and dozens of churchÂes. More than 1,200 Black-owned housÂes burned.” The attackÂers rained death from above: a report by a state-appointÂed comÂmisÂsion found “TulÂsa was likeÂly the first city” in the counÂtry “to be bombed from the air.”
“The ecoÂnomÂic lossÂes in the Black comÂmuÂniÂty amountÂed to more than $1 milÂlion,” Brown notes, a figÂure that canÂnot account for perÂsonÂal lossÂes that resÂonatÂed through genÂerÂaÂtions, like those described by the massacre’s oldÂest livÂing surÂvivor, who tesÂtiÂfied recentÂly before a House subÂcomÂmitÂtee. SonÂali KolÂhatkar writes:
107-year-old VioÂla FletchÂer… tesÂtiÂfied to ConÂgress a few weeks ahead of the 100th anniverÂsary and recalled growÂing up as a child in GreenÂwood in “a beauÂtiÂful home” with “great neighÂbors and… friends to play with.” “I had everyÂthing a child could need. I had a bright future ahead of me,” she said. A few weeks after FletchÂer turned sevÂen, the armed men struck on May 31, 1921. After recountÂing the “vioÂlence of the white mob,” and her memÂoÂries of seeÂing “Black bodÂies lying in the street” and “Black busiÂnessÂes being burned,” she went on to describe the grindÂing poverÂty she was thrown into as a result of the masÂsacre.
FletchÂer nevÂer made it past the fourth grade in school. The promisÂing future that her famÂiÂly had worked hard to give her was oblitÂerÂatÂed in the ashÂes of the TulÂsa Race MasÂsacre. “Most of my life I was a domesÂtic workÂer servÂing white famÂiÂlies. I nevÂer made much monÂey. To this day I can bareÂly afford my everyÂday needs,” she told lawÂmakÂers durÂing her tesÂtiÂmoÂny.
That the anniverÂsary now falls on MemoÂrÂiÂal Day (then celÂeÂbratÂed on May 30th) seems a bitÂter irony givÂen that much of the backÂlash toward Black comÂmuÂniÂties came from fear of those returnÂing Black solÂdiers who stood up against the everyÂday vioÂlence of Jim Crow when they returned from overÂseas. Birth of a Nation inspired a reborn Ku Klux Klan and its supÂportÂers to turn that fear into a cruÂsade, a kind of pre-empÂtive colÂlecÂtive retalÂiÂaÂtion.
“DurÂing the masÂsacres, they murÂdered and maimed peoÂple indisÂcrimÂiÂnateÂly, unproÂvoked,” says Alice M. Thomas, a Carnegie scholÂar and a proÂfesÂsor in the School of Law at Howard UniÂverÂsiÂty. “They went into homes, stole perÂsonÂal belongÂings, and burned down homes. They used the masÂsacres as a covÂer to murÂder withÂout sancÂtion, maim withÂout sancÂtion, and steal withÂout sancÂtion. No one, to this day, has been held accountÂable.”
Red SumÂmer was priÂmarÂiÂly driÂven by what now gets codÂed as “ecoÂnomÂic anxÂiÂety.” KarÂlos K. Hill, proÂfesÂsor of African and African AmerÂiÂcan StudÂies at the UniÂverÂsiÂty of OklaÂhoma, explains that “the GreenÂwood DisÂtrict [of TulÂsa] was perÂhaps the wealthÂiÂest Black comÂmuÂniÂty in the counÂtry… a symÂbol of what was posÂsiÂble even in Jim Crow AmerÂiÂca.” Referred to as “Black Wall Street” — the moniker givÂen to many othÂer such comÂmuÂniÂties — GreenÂwood posed a threat: “The fear was, if Black peoÂple could have ecoÂnomÂic and politÂiÂcal equalÂiÂty, then social equalÂiÂty would folÂlow right behind.”
Rather than face the frightÂenÂing prospect of an actuÂal democÂraÂcy, thouÂsands of white AmerÂiÂcans lashed out in Red SumÂmer, burnÂing Black Wall Streets to the ground nationÂwide. After a cenÂtuÂry of denial, the U.S. is only beginÂning to reckÂon with the masÂsacres, and specifÂiÂcalÂly, with TulÂsa. The president’s proclaÂmaÂtion marks a hisÂtoric step in the right direcÂtion. In the Vox video above, learn more about a stoÂry “you won’t find in most hisÂtoÂry books.”
As NPR notes, you can also watch anothÂer docÂuÂmenÂtary on the TulÂsa masÂsacre on PBS.
RelatÂed ConÂtent:
Take The Near ImposÂsiÂble LitÂerÂaÂcy Test Louisiana Used to SupÂpress the Black Vote (1964)
Josh Jones is a writer and musiÂcian based in Durham, NC. FolÂlow him at @jdmagness
Leave a Reply