The Tulsa Race Massacre: 'Flames of Hate Could Not Destroy the Fire of Faith'

TULSA – As one of America's most notorious attacks, the Tulsa race massacre remains a difficult subject to discuss more than 100 years later. Residents of Tulsa's historic Greenwood District, however, believe it's a part of history that can't be forgotten so that it never happens again. They are relying on faith and education to heal the wounds of a painful past. 

"Sometimes when I'm telling this story, sometimes I still cry, and sometimes I'm angry," said Michelle Burdex of the Greenwood Cultural Center. 

For three decades, Burdex has told the story of Tulsa's Black Wall Street. She explains how, from 1908 to 1921, African Americans built a thriving community in the face of segregation and racial hatred.  

Greenwood businesses prospered, families flourished, and a Black middle class began to rise. Meanwhile, an undercurrent of bigotry and envy took root. 

"Over the years. It angered many whites. How dare they be well educated? They have beautiful homes, and they dress well. How dare they walk down the street smiling and having a good time?"

In that climate of 1921, a local newspaper reported that a Black teenager assaulted a White woman in an elevator inside a whites-only building downtown. That accusation became the spark that shook the city.

A painful reality unfolded here. Over the Memorial Day Weekend, from May 30 to June 1 of that year, Tulsa experienced the worst race massacre in the history of America. 

"At least 300 people lost their lives. The entire population of the black community was between 10 to 12,000 men, women, and children. Six thousand people were held in internment camps, several set up...around the city of Tulsa, where they said that they were being held for their protection," says Burdex. 

She explains further that keeping the Black citizens in an internment camp only inflicted more pain.

"But what it did was to leave their homes and businesses defenseless so that the white riders could then go take their time and take whatever valuables they wanted from their homes. That left four to 6,000 people unaccounted for."

The destruction of the entire Greenwood District community left deep wounds that still need healing. Retired Navy officer Lori Campbell, of Tulsa's Family and Children's Services, helps communities cope with trauma. She says healing begins with honest conversation. 

"I believe that people need to be able to talk. Like, listen to my story and don't just dismiss my story, just because it's been years and years ago. Everyone needs to come together. And we just need to listen and feel the pain."

Feeling that pain can lead to healing. Outside of Vernon AME Church, one of the few structures to survive the massacre, Tulsa resident Mary Williams showed me a painting by her late daughter that points to God as pathway to hope and healing. The painting depicts the churches that were burned with a poignant caption: "The flames of hate could not destroy the fire of faith."

The faith and desire to move forward are visible. There are many ongoing efforts to heal. In Tulsa's Martin Luther King, Jr. parade, people of all races braved frigid temperatures to march together and celebrate peace and unity.

Antonio Thompson of the Martin Luther King Jr. Society explains, "It's a new day, but the dream is still the same. The dream of unity. The dream of peace. The dream of equality."

Former Tulsa City Council member, educator, and community leader, Jack Anderson, has committed his life to helping the city to heal. "I made my whole life a journey to try to make sure that North Tulsa and South Tulsa come together as one. Instead of the tale of two cities, let's make it one city. Both standing tall to make this city better."

Dr. Lana Turner-Addison, of the North Tulsa Economic Opportunity and the Greenwood Legacy Corporation, is helping the community heal through several joint public and private economic development projects. She is focused on building intergenerational wealth for North Tulsa.

"I remain hopeful. I feel like Tulsa can show the nation how it can be done. You just keep pushing through the noise. And we all, all races, want brighter futures for our families."

A sign of making the city better is reflected in the sculpture found in Greenwood's John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park. It depicts the three phases of change to Tulsa's Black Wall Street. First beginning in 1921 with the Hostility, showing a white man chomping on a cigar, holding two rifles, preparing to go into the Greenwood district, Black Wall Street, and inflict the second phase of the sculpture, Humiliation, showing a Black man with his hands up to surrender. It shows the pain of Black Americans living there, how their livelihood and lives were taken away by violence. But the sculpture doesn't end there. It shows a third phase; a Black man with a smile is holding a baby in his arms as he looks up with a smile to see beyond the disaster to see a future and a hope. It's an artistic display that illustrates the perseverance, resilience, and the faith of the people.

I asked Mary Williams what her hope is for Tulsa and the nation.

She replied, "For the nation I pray that we will come together as 2nd Chronicles 7:14, come together, turn from our own wicked ways, seek God's face, that God may hear us from Heaven, forgive our sins, and heal our land."

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal our land."