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♪♪
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♪♪
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♪♪
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♪♪
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- In the 1920s there was
a strong Black community
6
00:00:28,328 --> 00:00:30,163
here in Tulsa
called Greenwood.
7
00:00:32,832 --> 00:00:36,736
These people were the core
of Black entrepreneurship.
8
00:00:39,239 --> 00:00:41,241
People call it
the Black Wall Street.
9
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- Greenwood was like putting
Harlem, Bourbon Street,
10
00:00:49,883 --> 00:00:53,053
and Chocolate City
all in one place.
11
00:00:55,755 --> 00:00:58,358
- But white Tulsans
talked about Greenwood
12
00:00:58,425 --> 00:01:01,761
as Little Africa
or Nigger Land.
13
00:01:04,697 --> 00:01:06,800
- Tulsa was a powder keg
14
00:01:08,968 --> 00:01:11,438
needing only something
15
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to set
the community alight.
16
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♪♪
17
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- Between 100 and 300 people,
most of them Black,
18
00:01:26,586 --> 00:01:28,421
were killed.
19
00:01:29,823 --> 00:01:32,992
- Today, we call it
a mass murder.
20
00:01:36,563 --> 00:01:39,632
They were hastily trying
to get rid of the bodies
21
00:01:42,569 --> 00:01:44,404
by dumping them
in mass graves
22
00:01:44,471 --> 00:01:46,005
around the city.
23
00:01:50,243 --> 00:01:53,746
- We have Tulsans of
an undermined number
24
00:01:53,813 --> 00:01:55,682
who were murdered.
25
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It should not have
taken 99 years.
26
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- Anybody who thinks
that this crime scene
27
00:02:01,821 --> 00:02:04,023
is not gonna speak
28
00:02:04,124 --> 00:02:07,327
doesn't have
the ears to hear.
29
00:02:07,427 --> 00:02:10,497
The ancestors are awake
30
00:02:10,597 --> 00:02:12,966
and the earth is shaking.
31
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[radio tuning]
32
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♪♪
33
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- Ah, yeah!
So rough, so tough.
34
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For all you people
listening to KBOB 89.9,
35
00:02:50,170 --> 00:02:52,672
located right here
in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
36
00:02:54,340 --> 00:02:57,911
This is where we tell
our stories our way.
37
00:02:58,011 --> 00:03:01,047
We can be talking
about these graves,
38
00:03:01,147 --> 00:03:02,749
you know, here in
Tulsa, Oklahoma,
39
00:03:02,849 --> 00:03:07,086
excavation of these graves,
what it means to us.
40
00:03:07,187 --> 00:03:08,988
I guess I'm gonna
start with you, Kristi.
41
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- Uh-oh.
- Uh-oh.
42
00:03:10,823 --> 00:03:13,193
[laughter]
43
00:03:13,259 --> 00:03:15,695
Kristi.
Kristi Williams.
44
00:03:15,762 --> 00:03:17,864
- I came to Tulsa when
I was in the sixth grade.
45
00:03:17,931 --> 00:03:20,700
So, that's been, whoo!
46
00:03:20,767 --> 00:03:22,602
I don't know
how many years.
47
00:03:22,702 --> 00:03:25,338
My mother is from Oklahoma.
48
00:03:28,675 --> 00:03:32,111
There was a strong
Black community in Tulsa
49
00:03:32,212 --> 00:03:34,280
called Greenwood.
50
00:03:35,548 --> 00:03:40,286
These people were the core
of Black entrepreneurship
51
00:03:40,386 --> 00:03:44,757
and they would help you
get your business started.
52
00:03:44,857 --> 00:03:48,194
I mean, Greenwood
was booming.
53
00:03:48,261 --> 00:03:50,964
People call it
the Black Wall Street.
54
00:03:51,064 --> 00:03:53,533
And when you read
the editorials,
55
00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:56,869
and they would also post
events that were happening.
56
00:04:01,241 --> 00:04:05,478
And I imagine they were
having a great time!
57
00:04:05,578 --> 00:04:15,655
♪♪
58
00:04:15,755 --> 00:04:16,823
[sighs]
59
00:04:16,923 --> 00:04:20,560
What I love about Greenwood
is what it was.
60
00:04:22,228 --> 00:04:24,931
And I love what
it could be.
61
00:04:27,300 --> 00:04:30,103
But Tulsa has
a truth problem.
62
00:04:36,609 --> 00:04:37,844
Hiding the truth,
63
00:04:37,944 --> 00:04:40,013
and people
who will not challenge
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00:04:40,113 --> 00:04:42,615
what is perceived
to be truth.
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00:04:46,753 --> 00:04:48,288
- What's keeping Tulsa
from being
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00:04:48,354 --> 00:04:50,690
a great shining city
on a hill
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00:04:50,790 --> 00:04:52,325
is dealing with the legacy
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00:04:52,425 --> 00:04:55,695
of the so-called
Tulsa race riot of 1921.
69
00:04:58,498 --> 00:05:01,167
White Tulsans
murdered Black folks
70
00:05:01,267 --> 00:05:05,605
and were hastily trying
to get rid of the bodies
71
00:05:05,672 --> 00:05:08,508
by dumping them in mass graves
around the city.
72
00:05:10,510 --> 00:05:13,212
Awful things were done
to get rid of bodies.
73
00:05:16,316 --> 00:05:19,052
In the late 1990s
when Senator Maxine Horner
74
00:05:19,152 --> 00:05:22,822
and my father,
State Representative Don Ross
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00:05:22,889 --> 00:05:25,124
created the commission
to study
76
00:05:25,191 --> 00:05:28,394
the Tulsa race riot
of 1921,
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00:05:28,494 --> 00:05:31,464
which brought
historians, consultants
78
00:05:31,531 --> 00:05:34,167
from around the world
who tried to figure out
79
00:05:34,233 --> 00:05:36,235
what happened in 1921.
80
00:05:38,905 --> 00:05:43,176
I had many conversations
with riot survivors.
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00:05:59,692 --> 00:06:01,828
- Oh!
82
00:06:01,894 --> 00:06:03,696
- It was one of
the proudest moments that
83
00:06:03,763 --> 00:06:06,899
I can remember
of my father.
84
00:06:06,999 --> 00:06:08,534
When I wrote
their first articles,
85
00:06:08,601 --> 00:06:10,737
uh, "South Tulsa Tales
from the Crypt",
86
00:06:10,837 --> 00:06:13,039
I got a lot of attention.
87
00:06:14,207 --> 00:06:18,044
But nothing was done
until 2018
88
00:06:18,111 --> 00:06:21,681
when the story became
a "Washington Post" story
89
00:06:21,748 --> 00:06:23,883
thanks to a reporter
who came to Tulsa
90
00:06:23,950 --> 00:06:26,619
to do a story about
gentrification of Greenwood.
91
00:06:26,719 --> 00:06:28,621
No mayor,
Republican or Democrat,
92
00:06:28,721 --> 00:06:31,557
never thought about
or even touched the story
93
00:06:31,624 --> 00:06:33,693
of the mass graves.
94
00:06:35,194 --> 00:06:38,297
- You hear about, you know,
history being erased
95
00:06:38,398 --> 00:06:41,100
in, you know,
these authoritarian regimes
96
00:06:41,200 --> 00:06:44,137
or something like that.
97
00:06:44,237 --> 00:06:46,272
You can't imagine
that it would happen
98
00:06:46,372 --> 00:06:47,974
right here
in your own hometown
99
00:06:48,074 --> 00:06:50,109
in the middle
of the United States.
100
00:06:51,711 --> 00:06:54,147
And yet, it had.
101
00:06:54,247 --> 00:06:59,152
♪♪
102
00:06:59,252 --> 00:07:02,422
My name is G.T. Bynum.
I'm the mayor of Tulsa.
103
00:07:02,488 --> 00:07:04,590
I grew up here in Tulsa.
104
00:07:04,657 --> 00:07:07,460
My family has been here
since the 1870s.
105
00:07:08,795 --> 00:07:10,963
My great-great grandfather
was the second mayor of Tulsa.
106
00:07:13,099 --> 00:07:16,469
I heard about the massacre
in 2001 or 2002, maybe.
107
00:07:16,569 --> 00:07:18,738
And I was 24 years old
at this point.
108
00:07:19,939 --> 00:07:21,441
You know, every high school
student in Oklahoma
109
00:07:21,507 --> 00:07:23,843
has to go through
an Oklahoma history course.
110
00:07:23,943 --> 00:07:26,145
It never came up.
111
00:07:26,245 --> 00:07:29,248
My dad had been president of
the Tulsa Historical Society.
112
00:07:29,315 --> 00:07:31,184
It never came up.
113
00:07:31,284 --> 00:07:33,453
Hearing about that,
it was shocking to me
114
00:07:33,519 --> 00:07:35,488
because I love Tulsa.
115
00:07:36,789 --> 00:07:38,791
I couldn't believe that Tulsa
would be the kind of city
116
00:07:38,858 --> 00:07:41,360
where something like that
could happen.
117
00:07:41,461 --> 00:07:45,198
We have Tulsans of
an undetermined number
118
00:07:45,298 --> 00:07:48,201
who were murdered
in this event.
119
00:07:48,301 --> 00:07:50,870
And so, we have
a responsibility, I think,
120
00:07:50,970 --> 00:07:53,539
as a city to try
and find out
121
00:07:53,639 --> 00:07:56,476
where their remains are
and what happened to them.
122
00:08:09,322 --> 00:08:12,892
- You know, our ancestors
literally make up
123
00:08:12,992 --> 00:08:15,161
who and what we are.
124
00:08:16,696 --> 00:08:19,232
We are the physical
manifestation of
125
00:08:19,332 --> 00:08:22,001
our collective ancestors
and their memories.
126
00:08:26,305 --> 00:08:28,641
How can I tap into
his or her brilliance,
127
00:08:28,708 --> 00:08:30,376
their genius,
128
00:08:30,476 --> 00:08:33,412
so that I can really be
the best that I can be?
129
00:08:35,348 --> 00:08:38,184
- I think it's
at Tulsa's best interest
130
00:08:38,251 --> 00:08:41,087
to help heal the wounds,
131
00:08:41,187 --> 00:08:43,055
to go look for our dead
132
00:08:43,155 --> 00:08:45,258
and put them at
a proper rest.
133
00:08:46,559 --> 00:08:49,729
Pay for the damages
and for the lives
134
00:08:49,829 --> 00:08:53,032
that were lost in 1921.
135
00:08:56,936 --> 00:09:00,373
- The city deputized
a lot of white men
136
00:09:00,439 --> 00:09:02,275
during the massacre
137
00:09:02,375 --> 00:09:06,712
who robbed, murdered
a lot of people.
138
00:09:06,779 --> 00:09:08,781
They're accountable.
139
00:09:12,718 --> 00:09:15,354
- The story here is
a story about people.
140
00:09:15,421 --> 00:09:17,456
It's about
the human spirit.
141
00:09:19,458 --> 00:09:23,262
The massacre is a chapter
in a much larger, richer,
142
00:09:23,362 --> 00:09:25,464
more robust narrative.
143
00:09:32,371 --> 00:09:35,775
- Most people you're
going to interview,
144
00:09:35,875 --> 00:09:37,910
you need to ask
this question.
145
00:09:40,713 --> 00:09:42,715
Where are you people from?
146
00:09:44,784 --> 00:09:47,920
And if they say well,
we're from Oklahoma
147
00:09:47,987 --> 00:09:50,056
or Tulsa or Greenwood...
148
00:09:52,258 --> 00:09:55,728
well, when did
they get here?
149
00:09:55,795 --> 00:09:57,930
- Scene Grayson Take 1,
Common Marker, Mid Slate.
150
00:09:59,231 --> 00:10:02,001
- My father,
who's Creek Indian,
151
00:10:02,101 --> 00:10:04,670
was from Oklahoma.
152
00:10:04,770 --> 00:10:09,075
My family is a mixture of
Indian, Black, and white.
153
00:10:11,077 --> 00:10:14,146
And... here I am.
154
00:10:16,616 --> 00:10:19,151
- The story of Oklahoma
really began with
155
00:10:19,251 --> 00:10:22,421
the five civilized tribes
in the 1830s and 1840s.
156
00:10:22,488 --> 00:10:35,801
♪♪
157
00:10:35,868 --> 00:10:39,805
- The Chickasaws,
the Creeks,
158
00:10:39,872 --> 00:10:41,874
the Cherokee, Choctaw,
159
00:10:41,974 --> 00:10:45,044
and the Seminoles,
160
00:10:45,144 --> 00:10:47,680
called the five
civilized tribes.
161
00:10:48,681 --> 00:10:51,317
They were originally
from the South,
162
00:10:51,384 --> 00:10:54,387
from Alabama, Georgia,
parts of Florida,
163
00:10:54,487 --> 00:10:58,991
Tennessee, Mississippi
and the South Carolina area
164
00:10:59,058 --> 00:11:01,560
where these tribes
owned plantations.
165
00:11:04,230 --> 00:11:07,299
- Civilized really
is a veiled reference
166
00:11:07,366 --> 00:11:11,070
to taking on, accepting
Eurocentric ways.
167
00:11:13,172 --> 00:11:17,410
One of those ways was
a practice of chattel slavery
168
00:11:17,510 --> 00:11:19,912
to boost oneself
economically.
169
00:11:21,514 --> 00:11:24,817
- At the Cherokee museum today
are slave Bills of Sale,
170
00:11:24,884 --> 00:11:27,920
including one by then
Principal Chief John Ross.
171
00:11:29,822 --> 00:11:31,390
- I don't ever talk
about it very much
172
00:11:31,490 --> 00:11:33,359
because I think it's
a very shameful part
173
00:11:33,426 --> 00:11:35,728
of, um, of
Cherokee history,
174
00:11:35,828 --> 00:11:38,831
and so I've purposely
avoided involving myself
175
00:11:38,898 --> 00:11:41,400
in that whole issue.
176
00:11:48,274 --> 00:11:51,110
♪ Java man
he made a life ♪
177
00:11:52,878 --> 00:11:55,781
♪ But the mammy
ain't his wife ♪
178
00:11:57,550 --> 00:12:02,455
♪ Choppin' cotton
don't be slow ♪
179
00:12:02,555 --> 00:12:04,857
♪ Better finish out
yo' row. ♪
180
00:12:07,893 --> 00:12:10,262
- Slavery in the five
civilized tribes varied.
181
00:12:12,298 --> 00:12:15,534
What's really important
to remember is that
182
00:12:15,601 --> 00:12:17,770
these people were enslaved.
183
00:12:20,039 --> 00:12:24,710
So, by definition,
it wasn't a good experience
184
00:12:24,777 --> 00:12:25,878
because if you're a slave,
185
00:12:25,945 --> 00:12:29,215
then you don't have
your individual liberty,
186
00:12:29,281 --> 00:12:32,952
which arguably matters
more than anything else.
187
00:12:33,052 --> 00:12:34,453
- Enslaving Black people,
188
00:12:34,553 --> 00:12:36,989
it was part of the economy
of those tribes.
189
00:12:38,591 --> 00:12:42,561
When the Americans now
wanted that land
190
00:12:42,628 --> 00:12:44,296
for their own plantations,
191
00:12:44,396 --> 00:12:46,665
they took the plantations
of the Indians.
192
00:12:48,634 --> 00:12:52,304
This was done in
a legal way...
193
00:12:54,406 --> 00:12:56,809
by passing legislation,
194
00:12:56,909 --> 00:12:58,811
The Indian Removal Act,
195
00:12:58,911 --> 00:13:01,614
the forced migration of
the five civilized tribes
196
00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:03,482
from the Southeastern
United States
197
00:13:03,582 --> 00:13:04,850
into Indian territory,
198
00:13:04,950 --> 00:13:07,753
which is what is
today Oklahoma.
199
00:13:07,820 --> 00:13:10,122
- They said, well,
we're swapping you
200
00:13:10,189 --> 00:13:12,992
this land for the lands
west of the Mississippi
201
00:13:13,092 --> 00:13:14,994
in Indian territory.
202
00:13:15,094 --> 00:13:17,530
You have no choice
but to go.
203
00:13:20,299 --> 00:13:22,601
We know it as
The Trail of Tears.
204
00:13:22,668 --> 00:13:30,042
♪♪
205
00:13:30,142 --> 00:13:33,179
The slaves that the tribes
didn't sell off,
206
00:13:33,279 --> 00:13:35,548
they brought them on
The Trail of Tears.
207
00:13:39,185 --> 00:13:41,620
So, just like
an oxen or a bull
208
00:13:41,687 --> 00:13:43,489
that was pulling a wagon,
209
00:13:43,556 --> 00:13:46,826
the Black folks was
in the same situation.
210
00:13:46,892 --> 00:13:49,528
They didn't have
a choice.
211
00:13:51,163 --> 00:14:00,172
♪♪
212
00:14:00,239 --> 00:14:03,876
- The five civilized tribes
officially aligned themselves
213
00:14:03,976 --> 00:14:06,478
with the Confederacy
during the Civil War
214
00:14:06,545 --> 00:14:08,314
because slaves were still
needed to improve
215
00:14:08,380 --> 00:14:10,749
the economic fortunes
of these tribes.
216
00:14:12,151 --> 00:14:14,053
The Confederacy lost,
by the way.
217
00:14:14,153 --> 00:14:16,388
And so, after
the Civil War,
218
00:14:16,488 --> 00:14:19,592
the Federal government
negotiated with these tribes
219
00:14:19,692 --> 00:14:21,360
on treaties generally
referred to
220
00:14:21,427 --> 00:14:23,863
as the Treaties of 1866.
221
00:14:23,929 --> 00:14:35,608
♪♪
222
00:14:35,708 --> 00:14:38,944
- In Article II of
The Creek Treaty of 1866,
223
00:14:39,044 --> 00:14:42,081
it says that you won't
have slaves anymore.
224
00:14:42,181 --> 00:14:42,948
That's a wrap.
225
00:14:43,048 --> 00:14:45,017
It's not gonna
happen no more.
226
00:14:47,753 --> 00:14:51,457
Those slaves that you have,
they're now your Tribal members.
227
00:14:51,557 --> 00:14:54,026
They're now your citizens.
228
00:14:55,561 --> 00:14:57,463
Black people who had been
with the Indians,
229
00:14:57,563 --> 00:15:01,300
now 10, 15 generations,
230
00:15:01,400 --> 00:15:04,036
either enslaved
or married among them
231
00:15:04,103 --> 00:15:06,138
or their children.
232
00:15:07,640 --> 00:15:09,808
They were called
the Freedmen.
233
00:15:14,113 --> 00:15:16,048
The United States government
forced the Tribes
234
00:15:16,115 --> 00:15:19,818
to divide up this land
with the Freedmen.
235
00:15:19,919 --> 00:15:21,954
- The slaves who belonged
to the Cherokees
236
00:15:22,054 --> 00:15:23,722
could come right back
to the territory
237
00:15:23,789 --> 00:15:26,258
and settle on Indian land.
238
00:15:26,325 --> 00:15:28,093
And when allotment came,
239
00:15:28,160 --> 00:15:31,430
they gave us an equal right
with them in land drawings.
240
00:15:31,497 --> 00:15:33,666
The United States government
forced them to do this,
241
00:15:33,766 --> 00:15:35,935
I have been told.
242
00:15:36,001 --> 00:15:50,082
♪♪
243
00:15:52,284 --> 00:15:55,854
- Okay, so, on this map,
244
00:15:55,955 --> 00:15:57,790
this is the Creek Nation.
245
00:15:57,856 --> 00:15:59,959
This little yellow spot
up here
246
00:16:00,025 --> 00:16:01,093
is Township Tulsa.
247
00:16:05,597 --> 00:16:08,701
The green area are
the allotments of the Freedmen.
248
00:16:11,637 --> 00:16:14,640
Everybody got 160 acres
if you were full-blood Creek,
249
00:16:16,508 --> 00:16:18,877
if you were full Black
from Africa.
250
00:16:21,347 --> 00:16:25,284
If you were female
you got 160 acres.
251
00:16:25,351 --> 00:16:30,656
The Freedmen allotments
totaled 1,192,240 acres.
252
00:16:32,458 --> 00:16:34,226
One million one hundred--
253
00:16:34,326 --> 00:16:36,829
I really want people
to understand that.
254
00:16:36,895 --> 00:16:41,000
That's a lot of land for
a small geographical area.
255
00:16:41,066 --> 00:16:43,302
It's a lot of land
to own.
256
00:16:43,369 --> 00:16:46,138
The most important part
of the story
257
00:16:46,205 --> 00:16:48,540
of Black people here
in Oklahoma
258
00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:51,210
is the Black land ownership.
259
00:16:55,581 --> 00:16:58,384
- As a descendent of
a Creek Freedmen,
260
00:16:58,484 --> 00:17:00,819
I believe land is power,
261
00:17:00,886 --> 00:17:02,421
land is wealth,
262
00:17:02,521 --> 00:17:08,227
land is really the-the core
of Black entrepreneurship.
263
00:17:13,699 --> 00:17:16,602
- You had two types
of Blacks in Oklahoma.
264
00:17:16,702 --> 00:17:19,271
You had those Freedmen.
265
00:17:21,040 --> 00:17:23,609
Then you had state Blacks.
266
00:17:23,709 --> 00:17:25,411
State Blacks came
to Oklahoma looking
267
00:17:25,511 --> 00:17:27,046
for the promised land.
268
00:17:27,112 --> 00:17:31,383
♪♪
269
00:17:31,450 --> 00:17:33,619
- There was a movement
called Boosterism
270
00:17:33,719 --> 00:17:37,056
and this began in 1889
271
00:17:37,122 --> 00:17:39,024
using bulletins
and encouraging Black folks
272
00:17:39,091 --> 00:17:41,226
to migrate from
the deep South
273
00:17:41,293 --> 00:17:43,562
to what is now Oklahoma.
274
00:17:43,629 --> 00:17:46,765
The leader of that movement
was a fellow called E.P. McCabe.
275
00:17:46,865 --> 00:17:49,134
He recruited Black people
to come on the theory
276
00:17:49,234 --> 00:17:52,905
that it represented an escape
from the oppressive deep South,
277
00:17:52,971 --> 00:17:55,808
an opportunity
to prosper economically.
278
00:17:58,444 --> 00:18:00,212
- The time will soon come
when we will be able
279
00:18:00,279 --> 00:18:03,449
to dictate the policy of
this territory, or state.
280
00:18:03,549 --> 00:18:05,217
And when that time comes,
281
00:18:05,284 --> 00:18:08,253
we will have a Negro state
governed by Negroes.
282
00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:10,556
We do not wish
to antagonize the whites.
283
00:18:10,622 --> 00:18:12,057
They are necessary
in the development
284
00:18:12,124 --> 00:18:13,492
of a new country.
285
00:18:13,592 --> 00:18:15,394
But they owe my race homes,
286
00:18:15,461 --> 00:18:16,962
and my race owes to itself
287
00:18:17,062 --> 00:18:19,932
a governmental control
of those homes.
288
00:18:24,736 --> 00:18:27,106
- Land meant rebirth.
289
00:18:29,508 --> 00:18:33,679
It meant renewal.
Land meant survival.
290
00:18:33,779 --> 00:18:37,316
There were 40 other
Black townships around Oklahoma.
291
00:18:37,416 --> 00:18:39,751
The whole state.
292
00:18:39,818 --> 00:18:40,752
Not just Tulsa.
293
00:18:46,492 --> 00:18:49,294
- It was the promised land
for a lot of people
294
00:18:49,361 --> 00:18:51,029
coming out of slavery
295
00:18:51,130 --> 00:18:53,699
wanting to escape
lynchings
296
00:18:53,799 --> 00:18:55,801
and wanting just to raise
their families
297
00:18:55,868 --> 00:18:58,871
in a loving community.
298
00:19:05,978 --> 00:19:09,982
- Freedman had all of
this land with mineral rights
299
00:19:10,048 --> 00:19:12,885
that ultimately made them
very wealthy.
300
00:19:22,361 --> 00:19:25,297
- We put ourselves
in Oklahoma, 1906.
301
00:19:27,799 --> 00:19:29,968
A city called Tulsa.
302
00:19:30,035 --> 00:19:40,979
♪♪
303
00:19:41,046 --> 00:19:43,715
Tulsa boomed after
the discovery of oil.
304
00:19:48,187 --> 00:19:51,757
Tulsa became the oil capital
of the world.
305
00:19:51,857 --> 00:19:56,929
♪♪
306
00:19:57,029 --> 00:20:00,232
The oil drew people
really from all over,
307
00:20:00,332 --> 00:20:02,901
seeking fame and fortune.
308
00:20:04,503 --> 00:20:06,605
The population
just mushroomed.
309
00:20:06,705 --> 00:20:13,612
♪♪
310
00:20:13,712 --> 00:20:18,617
- Back then, people were
moving to the city every day,
311
00:20:18,717 --> 00:20:20,752
whether it's
a sharecropper
312
00:20:20,852 --> 00:20:23,789
leaving some rural
Oklahoma county,
313
00:20:23,889 --> 00:20:26,291
looking for a job
in the oilfields.
314
00:20:27,726 --> 00:20:29,294
Whether it's
a young entrepreneur
315
00:20:29,394 --> 00:20:32,397
who thinks that they can
strike the next one.
316
00:20:32,464 --> 00:20:34,199
People called it
the Magic City
317
00:20:34,266 --> 00:20:36,235
because it just
came out of nowhere.
318
00:20:36,301 --> 00:20:49,548
♪♪
319
00:20:49,615 --> 00:20:50,782
- Back when I was growing up,
320
00:20:50,882 --> 00:20:54,319
they said
the 1921 race riot
321
00:20:54,419 --> 00:20:56,388
and then they changed it
to massacre.
322
00:20:56,455 --> 00:20:58,223
And I wanted people
to know my mother
323
00:20:58,290 --> 00:21:00,225
was a survivor of that.
324
00:21:00,292 --> 00:21:01,727
A lot of people say,
325
00:21:01,793 --> 00:21:04,096
oh, we didn't know
anything about it.
326
00:21:04,162 --> 00:21:05,330
I always knew about it
327
00:21:05,430 --> 00:21:08,667
because my mother
told me about it.
328
00:21:08,767 --> 00:21:13,772
♪♪
329
00:21:13,839 --> 00:21:16,575
- Tulsa has seen a lot of
growth in recent years.
330
00:21:16,642 --> 00:21:18,477
Some might even say it's
showing signs of becoming
331
00:21:18,577 --> 00:21:21,947
a destination city.
332
00:21:22,014 --> 00:21:25,317
- Tulsa is a beautiful
little city
333
00:21:27,152 --> 00:21:29,521
that wants to be
a big city.
334
00:21:29,621 --> 00:21:39,865
♪♪
335
00:21:39,965 --> 00:21:41,266
It's just a little
country town
336
00:21:41,333 --> 00:21:42,434
that had big skyscrapers.
337
00:21:49,941 --> 00:21:52,878
The weather is beautiful.
338
00:21:52,978 --> 00:21:55,314
The cost of living
is wonderful.
339
00:21:56,648 --> 00:21:59,318
People from various
different walks of life.
340
00:22:02,354 --> 00:22:04,556
And I strongly believe
at one time
341
00:22:04,656 --> 00:22:08,327
that we're going
to be the best city
342
00:22:08,393 --> 00:22:10,529
that this world can offer.
343
00:22:29,848 --> 00:22:32,050
Make a left
at the light.
344
00:22:33,719 --> 00:22:38,890
Here we are in the historic
Greenwood community,
345
00:22:39,891 --> 00:22:43,328
AKA the Black Wall Street
of America,
346
00:22:43,395 --> 00:22:47,232
AKA the Negro Wall Street
of America,
347
00:22:47,332 --> 00:22:50,001
AKA my home.
348
00:22:58,744 --> 00:23:01,413
Every day that I've got
money in my pocket,
349
00:23:01,513 --> 00:23:03,582
I go down on Greenwood.
350
00:23:04,850 --> 00:23:06,585
I go get me a haircut.
351
00:23:08,787 --> 00:23:10,188
They give me
the latest scoop,
352
00:23:10,255 --> 00:23:12,290
find out what's going on.
353
00:23:14,426 --> 00:23:16,628
What's up on
Greenwood now?
354
00:23:18,764 --> 00:23:21,700
Yeah, the Tee's Barbershop
is a legacy of my family.
355
00:23:21,767 --> 00:23:23,935
My father got
his hair cut here.
356
00:23:24,035 --> 00:23:27,239
My son got his first haircut
right here.
357
00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:31,543
Well, how long has
a barbershop been on Greenwood?
358
00:23:31,610 --> 00:23:35,147
- The first barbershop
that I'm-- I worked for
359
00:23:35,247 --> 00:23:37,616
was called Mim's Barbershop
360
00:23:37,716 --> 00:23:41,253
and it was in the 1100 block
of North Greenwood.
361
00:23:41,319 --> 00:23:43,622
That was in 1963.
362
00:23:43,722 --> 00:23:44,923
They talking
about Greenwood
363
00:23:44,990 --> 00:23:47,392
and all you can see now
is one block.
364
00:23:47,459 --> 00:23:49,728
But it was businesses
all the way down
365
00:23:49,795 --> 00:23:54,666
from-from Lansing back to
Martin Luther King Drive today.
366
00:23:54,766 --> 00:23:57,769
♪♪
367
00:23:57,836 --> 00:24:00,172
- 1921.
368
00:24:00,272 --> 00:24:03,675
Greenwood was much larger
than just that one block
369
00:24:03,775 --> 00:24:05,844
that you guys see today.
370
00:24:11,283 --> 00:24:13,819
Greenwood's much larger
to the south,
371
00:24:13,919 --> 00:24:15,353
to the east,
372
00:24:15,454 --> 00:24:18,290
to the west,
and to the north.
373
00:24:20,926 --> 00:24:22,194
But the only thing
we have left
374
00:24:22,294 --> 00:24:24,529
is just a sliver
of its former self.
375
00:24:27,799 --> 00:24:30,035
- Every time somebody comes back
every other 20 years,
376
00:24:30,135 --> 00:24:31,369
there's less and less
of Greenwood.
377
00:24:31,470 --> 00:24:33,038
People come here all the time
and say, is this it?
378
00:24:33,138 --> 00:24:34,306
This is Greenwood?
379
00:24:34,372 --> 00:24:35,774
This is what they've
been talking about? Right?
380
00:24:37,209 --> 00:24:39,678
Everybody wants a community
381
00:24:39,778 --> 00:24:43,114
where they can
grow and prosper
382
00:24:43,181 --> 00:24:43,448
and that dollar
can turn over
383
00:24:47,118 --> 00:24:49,955
So, why wouldn't Black folks
want that for themselves?
384
00:25:03,235 --> 00:25:05,070
- I've been ownin'
Blow Out Hair Studio
385
00:25:05,170 --> 00:25:08,206
for 13 years now.
386
00:25:08,306 --> 00:25:10,408
Greenwood is special.
387
00:25:10,509 --> 00:25:13,011
Once you come down here,
you feel the energy.
388
00:25:15,814 --> 00:25:17,249
I would hate to leave
Greenwood.
389
00:25:17,349 --> 00:25:20,852
I will fight tooth and nails
before I leave,
390
00:25:20,919 --> 00:25:22,354
to be honest with you.
391
00:25:25,156 --> 00:25:27,225
- Farmers Insurance
is my first business.
392
00:25:27,325 --> 00:25:29,060
However, I have a studio,
393
00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:32,931
Greenwood Fitness
& Recreational Studio.
394
00:25:33,031 --> 00:25:36,034
You know, we have a debt
to our ancestors here.
395
00:25:36,101 --> 00:25:38,870
You know, we have to bring back
what was once there.
396
00:25:38,937 --> 00:25:40,272
[espresso machine whirring]
397
00:25:40,372 --> 00:25:43,074
And anyone that wants to
do business here
398
00:25:43,174 --> 00:25:47,279
should also be engaged
in that same idea,
399
00:25:47,379 --> 00:25:49,447
that same mentality,
same thought process.
400
00:25:57,188 --> 00:26:01,526
- When I got to Tulsa
in 1984,
401
00:26:01,593 --> 00:26:04,396
I was asked to do a regular
guest editorial column
402
00:26:04,462 --> 00:26:05,530
in the Oklahoma Eagle,
403
00:26:05,597 --> 00:26:08,066
which is
the Black newspaper.
404
00:26:08,133 --> 00:26:11,303
One of my assignments was
to do a historical treatment
405
00:26:11,403 --> 00:26:13,471
of the Greenwood District.
406
00:26:13,572 --> 00:26:16,207
I've had this sort of
obligation of service.
407
00:26:16,274 --> 00:26:17,442
And if I'm going to live
in this community,
408
00:26:17,542 --> 00:26:20,912
I want the community
to be the best it can be.
409
00:26:20,979 --> 00:26:22,747
We can't do that
unless we engage
410
00:26:22,814 --> 00:26:25,250
in the work of
racial reconciliation.
411
00:26:26,918 --> 00:26:27,819
And we can't do that
412
00:26:27,919 --> 00:26:30,055
unless we acknowledge
our history.
413
00:26:30,121 --> 00:26:34,259
♪♪
414
00:26:34,326 --> 00:26:43,301
♪♪
415
00:26:43,401 --> 00:26:45,770
A Black man,
the name of O.W. Gurley
416
00:26:45,837 --> 00:26:47,606
came to Oklahoma
from Arkansas.
417
00:26:49,107 --> 00:26:50,942
He bought land.
418
00:26:51,009 --> 00:26:54,512
He sold land to other
African Americas;
419
00:26:54,613 --> 00:26:57,916
established his first
business in 1906.
420
00:26:57,983 --> 00:26:59,818
Businesses
just proliferated
421
00:26:59,918 --> 00:27:04,589
and they became prosperous,
422
00:27:04,656 --> 00:27:06,324
creating and living
423
00:27:06,424 --> 00:27:10,595
in this insular
economic community
424
00:27:10,662 --> 00:27:12,163
called the
Greenwood District.
425
00:27:17,535 --> 00:27:23,675
The Greenwood District
was Black Main Street.
426
00:27:23,775 --> 00:27:27,345
Mom and pop type operations,
small businesses,
427
00:27:27,445 --> 00:27:31,216
hotels, restaurants,
grocery stores,
428
00:27:31,316 --> 00:27:32,784
theaters, nightclubs.
429
00:27:37,789 --> 00:27:41,292
- You have the offices
of African American lawyers.
430
00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:44,162
There are more than
12 physicians and surgeons
431
00:27:44,229 --> 00:27:45,864
that have their
offices in Greenwood.
432
00:27:49,234 --> 00:27:52,671
- Greenwood had
about 10,000 people.
433
00:27:52,737 --> 00:27:54,839
They were in search
for a way
434
00:27:54,906 --> 00:27:57,208
to be masters
of their own fate.
435
00:27:59,511 --> 00:28:02,080
Today, most of the people
connect to Greenwood
436
00:28:02,180 --> 00:28:04,883
and think
Black Wall Street
437
00:28:04,983 --> 00:28:07,585
and, yes,
that existed here.
438
00:28:07,686 --> 00:28:09,754
You did have people
that were pioneers
439
00:28:09,854 --> 00:28:15,760
and big business tycoons
living in sprawling mansions.
440
00:28:15,860 --> 00:28:28,840
♪♪
441
00:28:28,907 --> 00:28:32,043
And even most people
who were domestic workers
442
00:28:32,110 --> 00:28:34,512
or owning small shops,
443
00:28:34,579 --> 00:28:37,115
living day to day,
444
00:28:37,215 --> 00:28:39,250
everyone has an opportunity
and their skin color
445
00:28:39,350 --> 00:28:42,420
doesn't limit
their capacity here.
446
00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:45,223
That's what makes
Greenwood really special,
447
00:28:45,290 --> 00:28:47,125
that you have
this safe haven,
448
00:28:47,225 --> 00:28:48,960
that oasis
that existed here.
449
00:28:51,563 --> 00:28:53,431
- This is a special edition
of the events
450
00:28:53,531 --> 00:28:55,033
of the Tulsa Disaster.
451
00:28:55,100 --> 00:28:58,136
Mary Jones Parrish
is very important
452
00:28:58,236 --> 00:29:01,072
because she was hired
within a week or two
453
00:29:01,139 --> 00:29:05,643
of the massacre to collect
stories of people--
454
00:29:05,744 --> 00:29:07,712
of survivors,
including herself.
455
00:29:07,779 --> 00:29:16,988
♪♪
456
00:29:17,088 --> 00:29:19,157
- On leavin'
the Frisco Station,
457
00:29:19,257 --> 00:29:21,092
goin' north
to Archer Street,
458
00:29:21,159 --> 00:29:25,296
one could see nothin'
but Negro business places.
459
00:29:25,396 --> 00:29:28,433
Goin' east on Archer
for two or more blocks,
460
00:29:28,500 --> 00:29:32,103
there you would behold
Greenwood Avenue,
461
00:29:32,170 --> 00:29:33,972
the Negroes Wall Street.
462
00:29:35,740 --> 00:29:38,943
- Mary Parrish
was a remarkable woman.
463
00:29:39,010 --> 00:29:41,012
Originally from
Mississippi,
464
00:29:41,112 --> 00:29:44,015
she had set up
a secretarial school
465
00:29:44,115 --> 00:29:46,918
right on Greenwood Avenue
to teach young women
466
00:29:46,985 --> 00:29:48,620
all of these
different skills
467
00:29:48,686 --> 00:29:51,322
so they could get work
as secretaries
468
00:29:51,422 --> 00:29:55,126
to some of Greenwood's
Black doctors and lawyers.
469
00:29:55,193 --> 00:29:59,297
- This section of Tulsa
was a city within a city.
470
00:29:59,364 --> 00:30:02,133
Every face seemed to wear
a happy smile.
471
00:30:02,200 --> 00:30:11,843
♪♪
472
00:30:11,943 --> 00:30:16,848
- We're sitting in
the Mackey house.
473
00:30:16,948 --> 00:30:19,050
That's Lucy.
474
00:30:19,150 --> 00:30:22,153
The Mackeys
are really emblematic
475
00:30:22,220 --> 00:30:24,389
of the kind of
middle-class Black person
476
00:30:24,489 --> 00:30:26,558
who lived in
the Greenwood community
477
00:30:26,658 --> 00:30:28,026
during its peak.
478
00:30:29,494 --> 00:30:32,797
But I think if we only
fixate on the things
479
00:30:32,864 --> 00:30:35,700
that are glamorous
and more flattering
480
00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:37,302
and we forget that
the Greenwood District
481
00:30:37,368 --> 00:30:39,971
is a part of the city
called Tulsa.
482
00:30:44,375 --> 00:30:47,145
You have a Black
segregated community
483
00:30:47,212 --> 00:30:49,581
that's not getting its
fair share of tax dollars
484
00:30:49,681 --> 00:30:52,183
for infrastructure
like roads,
485
00:30:52,250 --> 00:30:54,385
like sewer systems,
and things like that.
486
00:30:59,691 --> 00:31:14,706
♪♪
487
00:31:21,379 --> 00:31:25,950
- There was so much money
in Tulsa these days,
488
00:31:26,050 --> 00:31:27,585
but here's the reality.
489
00:31:27,685 --> 00:31:29,754
Money plays
a complicated role
490
00:31:29,854 --> 00:31:33,091
in the intermingling
between the races.
491
00:31:33,191 --> 00:31:35,960
- Affluence, wealth,
prosperity
492
00:31:36,060 --> 00:31:39,264
created this tie-in
between Black Tulsans,
493
00:31:39,364 --> 00:31:41,466
white Tulsans,
494
00:31:41,566 --> 00:31:43,635
but it's all about
perspective.
495
00:31:43,735 --> 00:31:45,870
White Tulsans
talked about Greenwood
496
00:31:45,937 --> 00:31:48,406
as Little Africa
or Negro Land.
497
00:32:01,085 --> 00:32:04,589
- White Tulsans could control
what justice looks like...
498
00:32:06,925 --> 00:32:10,094
could control the narrative,
499
00:32:10,161 --> 00:32:13,164
could control
whatever they want.
500
00:32:13,264 --> 00:32:19,270
[children playing]
501
00:32:19,337 --> 00:32:24,976
- I would say that I had
a very neutral attitude
502
00:32:25,076 --> 00:32:26,678
about Blacks.
503
00:32:26,778 --> 00:32:32,283
We had, uh, Black maids
work for our household,
504
00:32:32,350 --> 00:32:35,987
but I knew that there was
separation of seating--
505
00:32:36,087 --> 00:32:39,524
restaurants, motels.
506
00:32:39,624 --> 00:32:51,869
♪♪
507
00:32:51,970 --> 00:32:55,974
- Through the years,
I met all sorts of people,
508
00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:59,043
including white people
whose family was in Tulsa
509
00:32:59,143 --> 00:33:02,046
during the people
of the massacre.
510
00:33:02,146 --> 00:33:03,781
You were telling me
that you were born,
511
00:33:03,848 --> 00:33:06,050
uh, in 1915.
- Uh-huh.
512
00:33:06,150 --> 00:33:07,885
Down on 9th and Denver
is where my parents
513
00:33:07,986 --> 00:33:10,788
bought a little house down there
when they got married.
514
00:33:10,855 --> 00:33:12,790
- Did you, as a child,
ever have occasion
515
00:33:12,857 --> 00:33:15,727
to visit the African American
community in Tulsa?
516
00:33:15,827 --> 00:33:19,130
- I-I think that
I would have been, uh,
517
00:33:19,197 --> 00:33:23,167
probably just going
to and from the homes
518
00:33:23,234 --> 00:33:24,902
where our maids lived.
519
00:33:25,003 --> 00:33:28,473
- My mother always
had the colored help.
520
00:33:28,539 --> 00:33:32,877
She just- she got along well
with people and--
521
00:33:32,977 --> 00:33:34,245
- When you say help,
you mean domestic,
522
00:33:34,345 --> 00:33:35,079
as domestic help?
523
00:33:35,179 --> 00:33:36,748
- Yes, domestic help.
Um-hmm.
524
00:33:36,848 --> 00:33:39,851
- My challenge, my charge
really is to help people
525
00:33:39,917 --> 00:33:42,854
come to grips
with their past,
526
00:33:42,920 --> 00:33:45,523
which is not to say that
every person in America's evil
527
00:33:45,590 --> 00:33:46,891
or every
white person is evil.
528
00:33:46,991 --> 00:33:49,694
It's to acknowledge
a series of systems
529
00:33:49,761 --> 00:33:51,896
that exist here
that advantage some people
530
00:33:51,996 --> 00:33:53,164
and disadvantage
other people.
531
00:33:54,432 --> 00:33:56,100
- We were taught
by innuendo
532
00:33:56,200 --> 00:33:59,504
to dislike
or to actually hate.
533
00:33:59,570 --> 00:34:01,339
I think the thing
that bothered me the most
534
00:34:01,406 --> 00:34:03,207
was not being able
to ask questions
535
00:34:03,274 --> 00:34:06,010
and have a discussion
or hear about it
536
00:34:06,077 --> 00:34:09,347
as just a kid growing up,
a white kid.
537
00:34:13,951 --> 00:34:15,753
- The only reason that
Black Wall Street existed
538
00:34:15,853 --> 00:34:18,356
was because of necessity.
539
00:34:20,625 --> 00:34:22,093
These people were not able
to participate
540
00:34:22,193 --> 00:34:25,863
in the regular economy run
by the dominant culture
541
00:34:25,930 --> 00:34:27,698
because of segregation.
542
00:34:31,636 --> 00:34:32,904
- The vast majority
of people
543
00:34:32,970 --> 00:34:35,072
who lived in Greenwood
were not wealthy.
544
00:34:35,139 --> 00:34:41,412
♪♪
545
00:34:41,479 --> 00:34:44,382
But they had regular jobs
in the white community
546
00:34:44,449 --> 00:34:45,883
and they had
a regular paycheck
547
00:34:45,950 --> 00:34:49,487
in the white community.
548
00:34:49,587 --> 00:34:52,223
You've got a lot of
well-to-do white Tulsans
549
00:34:52,290 --> 00:34:55,993
who are going to hire
servants, cooks,
550
00:34:56,094 --> 00:34:57,595
domestic workers.
551
00:35:00,798 --> 00:35:03,734
They would collect their
paycheck at the end of the week
552
00:35:03,801 --> 00:35:05,636
and they would spend it
back in Greenwood.
553
00:35:08,940 --> 00:35:11,242
You know, in Tulsa,
like in other southern cities,
554
00:35:11,309 --> 00:35:14,245
African Americans
can't go into a department store
555
00:35:14,312 --> 00:35:15,513
and try on clothes.
556
00:35:21,586 --> 00:35:25,256
But they can shop
in their own neighborhoods.
557
00:35:25,323 --> 00:35:29,327
So, what happens is
the merchants in Greenwood
558
00:35:29,427 --> 00:35:31,963
had this captive population
559
00:35:32,029 --> 00:35:35,333
and the money just flows
and flows and flows.
560
00:35:39,470 --> 00:35:42,039
- And it was successful
because they were supported
561
00:35:42,140 --> 00:35:44,275
by people
who looked like them,
562
00:35:44,342 --> 00:35:46,611
would purchase from them,
do business with them.
563
00:35:52,216 --> 00:35:55,653
- So, there's people that
are living all different lives
564
00:35:55,720 --> 00:35:57,455
and different
social standings
565
00:35:57,522 --> 00:36:00,324
but everyone here
is making a living
566
00:36:00,391 --> 00:36:05,730
whatever way they-
they decide to.
567
00:36:05,830 --> 00:36:08,666
And they're not feeling
the pressures
568
00:36:08,733 --> 00:36:10,701
and the violence
from the outside world.
569
00:36:17,975 --> 00:36:18,910
- I did not grow up here,
570
00:36:22,180 --> 00:36:25,550
and I'd recognized
the importance that it had,
571
00:36:25,650 --> 00:36:26,751
not just for
this community,
572
00:36:26,851 --> 00:36:30,354
but for the country
and also the world.
573
00:36:30,421 --> 00:36:36,093
And I wish that Greenwood
would be a wonderful community
574
00:36:36,194 --> 00:36:39,864
that would radiate
the likeness of the Lord.
575
00:36:47,705 --> 00:36:50,007
- 1920 Greenwood
was booming.
576
00:36:50,074 --> 00:36:59,517
♪♪
577
00:36:59,584 --> 00:37:01,352
It was a strong community.
578
00:37:03,221 --> 00:37:06,457
- A.C. Jackson was
a prominent Black surgeon.
579
00:37:06,557 --> 00:37:08,626
The Mayo Clinic said
that Dr. A.C. Jackson
580
00:37:08,726 --> 00:37:12,196
was the most able
Negro surgeon in America.
581
00:37:12,263 --> 00:37:15,099
Simon Berry
was a businessman.
582
00:37:15,199 --> 00:37:16,934
His first business
was a jitney service.
583
00:37:18,436 --> 00:37:20,071
A.J. Smitherman
was the editor and publisher
584
00:37:20,137 --> 00:37:21,305
of the Tulsa Star.
585
00:37:21,405 --> 00:37:23,808
His paper included
editorials and articles
586
00:37:23,908 --> 00:37:26,811
really talking about
social justice.
587
00:37:26,911 --> 00:37:28,312
- When you think about
Stradford,
588
00:37:28,412 --> 00:37:32,216
you think about what elegance
and grace looks like.
589
00:37:32,283 --> 00:37:34,252
- By the beginning
of 1917,
590
00:37:34,318 --> 00:37:36,487
I had amassed
quite a fortune.
591
00:37:36,587 --> 00:37:38,422
I owned fifteen
rental houses,
592
00:37:38,489 --> 00:37:40,992
a sixteen room
brick apartment building.
593
00:37:41,092 --> 00:37:44,495
The rental value
was $350 a month.
594
00:37:44,595 --> 00:37:47,231
The income from other sources
were triple.
595
00:37:47,298 --> 00:37:48,899
I had a splendid
bank account
596
00:37:48,966 --> 00:37:51,836
and was living on
the sunny side of the street.
597
00:37:51,936 --> 00:37:54,972
I decided to realize
my fondest hope,
598
00:37:55,072 --> 00:37:58,175
and that was to
erect a large hotel in Tulsa
599
00:37:58,276 --> 00:38:00,111
exclusively for my people.
600
00:38:04,749 --> 00:38:07,785
- J.B. Stradford built
the Stradford Hotel.
601
00:38:07,852 --> 00:38:11,856
- It's 54 rooms
and crystal chandeliers.
602
00:38:11,956 --> 00:38:12,623
- It was acknowledged
603
00:38:15,293 --> 00:38:17,595
in the United States
of America.
604
00:38:17,662 --> 00:38:19,530
It was the crown jewel
of Greenwood.
605
00:38:21,299 --> 00:38:22,700
- Loulah and John Williams,
606
00:38:22,800 --> 00:38:25,870
they were really active
in the community.
607
00:38:25,970 --> 00:38:27,438
Here they had
a rooming house
608
00:38:27,505 --> 00:38:29,206
and a garage
and a confectionary.
609
00:38:31,442 --> 00:38:35,513
Williams Dreamland Theatre
was a grand structure,
610
00:38:35,613 --> 00:38:37,715
really one of the jewels
in the Greenwood community
611
00:38:37,815 --> 00:38:38,949
at the time.
612
00:38:40,651 --> 00:38:45,022
- Imagine putting Harlem,
Bourbon Street,
613
00:38:45,122 --> 00:38:46,857
and Chocolate City
all in one place.
614
00:38:50,494 --> 00:38:52,463
A train stopping
on a Friday night
615
00:38:52,530 --> 00:38:54,398
coming to Greenwood
616
00:38:54,498 --> 00:38:57,201
with excess of 500 people
617
00:38:57,301 --> 00:38:58,903
to listen to
all the greats.
618
00:38:59,003 --> 00:39:03,240
♪♪
619
00:39:03,341 --> 00:39:05,710
- There are speakeasys,
there are pool halls,
620
00:39:05,810 --> 00:39:09,313
there's a lot of action
going on.
621
00:39:09,380 --> 00:39:11,749
In Greenwood you had
hell on one side
622
00:39:11,849 --> 00:39:13,250
and the holy ghost
on the other.
623
00:39:17,088 --> 00:39:20,591
- The church life in those
days were very strong
624
00:39:20,691 --> 00:39:24,929
and the church
was a source,
625
00:39:25,029 --> 00:39:27,598
not just for God,
but also for community.
626
00:39:27,698 --> 00:39:30,067
[piano playing blues music]
627
00:39:30,167 --> 00:39:36,707
♪♪
628
00:39:36,774 --> 00:39:37,708
- Well-to-do families,
629
00:39:37,775 --> 00:39:40,778
Black families in Tulsa
would have pianos.
630
00:39:40,878 --> 00:39:44,548
They would have their daughters
take piano lessons.
631
00:39:44,615 --> 00:39:48,919
You might hear
a blues song,
632
00:39:49,019 --> 00:39:51,088
but you might also hear
a Mozart sonata.
633
00:39:51,188 --> 00:39:56,560
[piano playing classical music]
634
00:39:56,627 --> 00:39:58,963
It's part of
the blood of the city.
635
00:39:59,063 --> 00:40:00,931
This is a part of
the heartbeat of the town.
636
00:40:04,235 --> 00:40:05,302
- And the sky was the limit.
637
00:40:05,403 --> 00:40:06,537
There was nothing
that you could not do.
638
00:40:14,779 --> 00:40:16,714
- When thinking about Tulsa
639
00:40:16,781 --> 00:40:19,417
in the early part
of the 20th century,
640
00:40:19,483 --> 00:40:20,384
it's important to remember
641
00:40:20,451 --> 00:40:23,454
where the Greenwood
community is.
642
00:40:23,554 --> 00:40:26,323
It abuts downtown,
separated by the Frisco tracks.
643
00:40:30,628 --> 00:40:36,167
If you live in a society
in which white supremacy
644
00:40:36,267 --> 00:40:38,469
is the prevailing
paradigm,
645
00:40:38,569 --> 00:40:41,906
but you live in a community
in which you can look across
646
00:40:41,972 --> 00:40:46,143
the dividing line,
the Frisco tracks,
647
00:40:46,243 --> 00:40:48,579
and see Black folks
driving nice cars
648
00:40:48,646 --> 00:40:51,749
and wearing fur coats
and living in nice homes,
649
00:40:51,816 --> 00:40:54,518
then it causes
cognitive dissonance,
650
00:40:54,618 --> 00:40:57,655
garden variety jealousy.
651
00:40:57,755 --> 00:41:00,357
That land was desired
by corporate interest
652
00:41:00,458 --> 00:41:03,527
in Tulsa.
We know that.
653
00:41:03,627 --> 00:41:06,130
The idea was to remove
the Black folks from the land,
654
00:41:06,197 --> 00:41:08,632
move them farther north,
655
00:41:08,699 --> 00:41:10,201
and use the land
for what was considered
656
00:41:10,301 --> 00:41:12,770
to be higher
and better purposes.
657
00:41:12,837 --> 00:41:16,373
- Tulsa appears now to be
in danger of losing its prestige
658
00:41:16,474 --> 00:41:18,876
as the whitest town
in Oklahoma.
659
00:41:18,976 --> 00:41:20,878
Does Tulsa wish
a double invasion
660
00:41:20,978 --> 00:41:23,113
of criminal
Negro preachers,
661
00:41:23,180 --> 00:41:24,815
Negro shysters,
662
00:41:24,882 --> 00:41:27,852
crap shooters, gamblers,
bootlegs, prostitutes,
663
00:41:27,952 --> 00:41:29,954
and smart alecks
in general?
664
00:41:30,020 --> 00:41:43,501
♪♪
665
00:41:43,567 --> 00:41:45,202
- We took Oklahoma history
in the ninth grade.
666
00:41:45,302 --> 00:41:47,137
And in our--
in our textbook,
667
00:41:47,204 --> 00:41:49,006
there was probably a page,
or a page and a half
668
00:41:49,073 --> 00:41:52,042
about the race massacre.
669
00:41:52,142 --> 00:41:53,744
We did not cover that
in class.
670
00:41:53,844 --> 00:41:57,515
I read it because I was
really interested in history
671
00:41:57,581 --> 00:42:00,217
and it was
a real revelation.
672
00:42:01,719 --> 00:42:07,157
It brought home just
how pervasive racism was
673
00:42:07,224 --> 00:42:11,195
in the United States
and in the social system.
674
00:42:11,262 --> 00:42:12,997
- Historians often
refer to the early part
675
00:42:13,063 --> 00:42:14,265
of the 20th century
in America
676
00:42:14,365 --> 00:42:16,867
as the low point of
race relations in America.
677
00:42:18,202 --> 00:42:20,604
- African Americans
are under attack
678
00:42:20,704 --> 00:42:24,375
in all different quarters
in all parts of the Union.
679
00:42:24,441 --> 00:42:27,444
This is an era where
the nature of lynchings
680
00:42:27,545 --> 00:42:29,280
are getting more
and more barbaric.
681
00:42:33,551 --> 00:42:35,252
- Lynching is a form of
domestic terrorism
682
00:42:35,352 --> 00:42:39,890
that targeted primarily
African Americans.
683
00:42:39,957 --> 00:42:45,296
In events to which people
brought their children,
684
00:42:45,396 --> 00:42:47,965
lynching was widespread
in the United States.
685
00:42:51,135 --> 00:42:53,270
That there would be such
a film like "Birth of a Nation"
686
00:42:53,370 --> 00:42:57,541
produced at the time...
687
00:42:57,608 --> 00:42:58,976
neither shocks
nor surprises me.
688
00:43:00,144 --> 00:43:08,953
♪♪
689
00:43:09,053 --> 00:43:11,088
- "Birth of a Nation",
690
00:43:11,155 --> 00:43:14,258
a landmark film
that came out in 1915.
691
00:43:18,262 --> 00:43:19,830
Black people were-
were portrayed
692
00:43:19,930 --> 00:43:21,599
in a very
demeaning manner.
693
00:43:27,237 --> 00:43:29,440
...the Ku Klux Klan
as heroes.
694
00:43:29,506 --> 00:43:33,344
♪♪
695
00:43:33,444 --> 00:43:36,180
- "The Birth of a Nation"
attests to the purity
696
00:43:36,280 --> 00:43:40,484
and chastity of white women
697
00:43:40,584 --> 00:43:43,253
and Black men mixing
with white women
698
00:43:43,320 --> 00:43:48,125
is a distinct taboo,
699
00:43:48,192 --> 00:43:50,327
which often did result
700
00:43:50,427 --> 00:43:51,962
in the death
of the Black men.
701
00:43:56,800 --> 00:43:58,602
- The film became,
uh, you know,
702
00:43:58,669 --> 00:44:00,371
pretty much of
a national phenomenon.
703
00:44:04,808 --> 00:44:08,212
President Woodrow Wilson
endorsed it.
704
00:44:08,312 --> 00:44:10,981
It showed all over
the country.
705
00:44:11,048 --> 00:44:13,851
It showed in Tulsa
in the convention hall.
706
00:44:18,188 --> 00:44:21,191
It certainly validated
these ideas.
707
00:44:25,129 --> 00:44:26,730
- How do you survive
if you're a Black person
708
00:44:26,830 --> 00:44:29,400
in America
during this era?
709
00:44:29,500 --> 00:44:33,203
And part of the answer came
through African American
710
00:44:33,303 --> 00:44:37,574
veterans of World War I
who'd fought in combat units
711
00:44:37,675 --> 00:44:39,977
in France
where they were treated
712
00:44:40,044 --> 00:44:42,346
with respect
and with honor.
713
00:44:42,413 --> 00:44:43,814
And they came back
to the United States
714
00:44:43,881 --> 00:44:47,017
and they found none.
715
00:44:47,084 --> 00:44:50,154
- We have Black veterans
in Greenwood.
716
00:44:50,220 --> 00:44:51,255
They fought for
their country,
717
00:44:51,355 --> 00:44:52,723
they fought for
their freedom.
718
00:44:52,823 --> 00:44:56,026
So, when they come home,
they expect to be respected.
719
00:44:59,229 --> 00:45:03,867
But what they come home to
is, again, more Jim Crow laws,
720
00:45:03,934 --> 00:45:05,869
more prejudice,
and more restrictions
721
00:45:05,936 --> 00:45:08,005
on their freedom
that they fought for.
722
00:45:11,508 --> 00:45:12,443
- After World War I,
723
00:45:16,447 --> 00:45:20,684
in uniform being lynched
by white mobs.
724
00:45:20,751 --> 00:45:25,389
It's pretty stunning
and remarkable.
725
00:45:25,456 --> 00:45:29,626
The idea is we're going to
show you what your place is.
726
00:45:29,727 --> 00:45:33,897
We don't care whether
you've fought for the country.
727
00:45:33,964 --> 00:45:36,767
When you're here,
you play by our rules.
728
00:45:38,969 --> 00:45:42,439
- The Ku Klux Klan
is kind of the bogeyman.
729
00:45:42,539 --> 00:45:44,441
I think, especially
as white people,
730
00:45:44,541 --> 00:45:46,910
we load up all the bad stuff
and we attribute it
731
00:45:46,977 --> 00:45:49,480
to this vague group
over here
732
00:45:49,580 --> 00:45:52,950
that we call
the Ku Klux Klan.
733
00:45:53,050 --> 00:45:56,887
Even the people who
considered themselves friends
734
00:45:56,954 --> 00:45:58,155
of the Black people
735
00:45:58,255 --> 00:46:02,426
didn't really consider them
equals in a social way.
736
00:46:02,493 --> 00:46:04,161
I mean, they-
they didn't want them--
737
00:46:04,261 --> 00:46:06,296
they didn't want them killed,
they didn't want them cheated,
738
00:46:06,396 --> 00:46:07,664
they didn't want
their houses burned down
739
00:46:07,765 --> 00:46:09,066
but they didn't want
to sit next to 'em
740
00:46:09,133 --> 00:46:10,768
in the restaurant either.
741
00:46:12,903 --> 00:46:13,737
In those times,
742
00:46:13,804 --> 00:46:15,773
Tulsa was like
a lot of other places.
743
00:46:15,839 --> 00:46:18,609
You had African Americans
who were just sort of tired
744
00:46:18,675 --> 00:46:21,578
of being sent
to the back of the bus,
745
00:46:21,645 --> 00:46:23,413
literally and figuratively.
746
00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:25,816
They were ready
to stand up for their--
747
00:46:25,916 --> 00:46:28,519
for their right.
748
00:46:28,619 --> 00:46:31,488
There had to have been
tension building up.
749
00:46:33,590 --> 00:46:36,860
- The Tulsa Tribune
published a series
750
00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:39,329
of inflammatory articles...
751
00:46:44,034 --> 00:46:45,869
...that really fomented
752
00:46:45,969 --> 00:46:47,304
hostility in the
white community
753
00:46:47,371 --> 00:46:48,872
against the Black community.
754
00:46:48,972 --> 00:46:51,341
♪♪
755
00:46:51,441 --> 00:46:54,311
Tulsa was a powder keg,
756
00:46:54,378 --> 00:46:58,215
a tinderbox
needing only something
757
00:46:58,315 --> 00:46:59,716
to set the community
alight.
758
00:47:10,294 --> 00:47:14,865
- Many years ago,
I was at a cemetery.
759
00:47:14,965 --> 00:47:17,534
I was taking pictures
of the tombstones.
760
00:47:22,139 --> 00:47:24,508
And I heard
this strange noise.
761
00:47:24,575 --> 00:47:26,510
Tsshh.
762
00:47:26,577 --> 00:47:29,179
I looked around;
it was nothing there.
763
00:47:29,246 --> 00:47:32,249
Then I heard a "tsshh"
to the right.
764
00:47:32,349 --> 00:47:35,085
Then I heard that same sound
surrounding me.
765
00:47:35,185 --> 00:47:36,353
Tsshh.
766
00:47:36,420 --> 00:47:37,754
I ran out of there.
767
00:47:41,892 --> 00:47:44,027
That's when I saw
a flock of redbirds
768
00:47:44,094 --> 00:47:45,395
come out of the trees.
769
00:47:48,699 --> 00:47:49,900
I thought that was
unusual.
770
00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:51,602
Normally you see
one or two redbirds,
771
00:47:51,702 --> 00:47:53,437
but I never saw
a flock of them
772
00:47:53,537 --> 00:47:57,107
flying together like that.
773
00:47:57,207 --> 00:48:00,277
And I told a good friend
of mine and she said,
774
00:48:00,377 --> 00:48:02,613
you saw redbirds
in a cemetery?
775
00:48:05,549 --> 00:48:07,618
Oh, baby, that's nothin'
but an omen, she said.
776
00:48:10,053 --> 00:48:13,056
That was the spirit
of the dead telling you
777
00:48:13,123 --> 00:48:18,629
to go tell somebody
that they are not at peace.
778
00:48:23,567 --> 00:48:26,370
- The ancestors
are speaking to us.
779
00:48:26,436 --> 00:48:31,275
The ancestors
are throwing clues at us.
780
00:48:31,375 --> 00:48:34,411
We have a responsibility
and an obligation
781
00:48:34,478 --> 00:48:36,113
to find the truth.
782
00:48:37,481 --> 00:48:39,082
- The mass graves
investigation
783
00:48:39,149 --> 00:48:42,286
started out in 1997,
actually,
784
00:48:42,386 --> 00:48:44,821
with Don Ross,
Kavin Ross' father.
785
00:48:46,323 --> 00:48:48,725
- When he was first told
about the massacre,
786
00:48:48,792 --> 00:48:50,761
my father, he thought
it was just a lie,
787
00:48:50,827 --> 00:48:52,896
that it didn't happen.
788
00:48:52,963 --> 00:48:56,500
It was not
in the history books.
789
00:48:56,600 --> 00:48:58,635
But then in high school,
790
00:48:58,735 --> 00:49:01,104
he heard first-hand
from survivors
791
00:49:01,171 --> 00:49:03,006
who were schoolteachers
at the time
792
00:49:03,106 --> 00:49:04,841
and that was something
that stuck with him
793
00:49:04,942 --> 00:49:06,410
until he got
to the point
794
00:49:06,476 --> 00:49:07,945
where he could do
something about it.
795
00:49:08,011 --> 00:49:10,147
- White political leaders
tried to bury the truth
796
00:49:10,247 --> 00:49:12,582
along with all those
Black victims of the riot.
797
00:49:12,649 --> 00:49:15,285
And they pretty much
succeeded for 76 years
798
00:49:15,352 --> 00:49:17,154
until 1997,
799
00:49:17,254 --> 00:49:19,690
when the state legislature
appointed a commission
800
00:49:19,790 --> 00:49:22,859
of 11 people to finally
uncover the truth
801
00:49:22,960 --> 00:49:25,829
about the horrific
riot of 1921.
802
00:49:25,929 --> 00:49:29,700
- Don Ross went to the governor
and the legislature and said,
803
00:49:29,800 --> 00:49:31,702
we've never had
an official study
804
00:49:31,802 --> 00:49:33,303
of this
little-known event.
805
00:49:33,370 --> 00:49:37,674
- That was inspired by
the Oklahoma City bombing.
806
00:49:37,774 --> 00:49:41,011
Uh, when they said it was
the largest urban disaster
807
00:49:41,111 --> 00:49:43,480
in America, wrong.
808
00:49:43,547 --> 00:49:46,616
Uh, more people were killed
than any such disaster,
809
00:49:46,683 --> 00:49:48,151
wrong.
810
00:49:48,218 --> 00:49:51,888
- I was asked to be the
historian for the commission.
811
00:49:51,989 --> 00:49:54,825
During that period,
I was thinking
812
00:49:54,891 --> 00:49:56,560
maybe we could use this
to figure out
813
00:49:56,660 --> 00:49:59,463
how many people died
and where they were buried.
814
00:50:00,998 --> 00:50:03,066
- I'm ready.
- Kavin, you good?
815
00:50:03,166 --> 00:50:05,068
- Go ahead.
- Hi, I'm Eddie Faye Gates,
816
00:50:05,168 --> 00:50:07,070
chair of the
Survivors Committee
817
00:50:07,170 --> 00:50:09,706
of the Oklahoma Legislative
Commission to study
818
00:50:09,806 --> 00:50:12,509
the Tulsa Race Riot
of 1921.
819
00:50:12,576 --> 00:50:15,879
- I was a videographer for
the race riot commission report.
820
00:50:16,847 --> 00:50:19,750
I was on it to accompany
Eddie Faye Gates,
821
00:50:19,850 --> 00:50:21,418
who was the commissioner
at the time.
822
00:50:21,518 --> 00:50:24,087
Her job was to record
the testimonies
823
00:50:24,187 --> 00:50:26,023
of the riot survivors.
824
00:50:26,089 --> 00:50:30,060
♪♪
825
00:50:30,160 --> 00:50:34,531
- We have located fifty-one
actual living riot survivors,
826
00:50:34,598 --> 00:50:37,334
ages 78 to 104.
827
00:50:37,401 --> 00:50:41,104
No research takes the place
of eyewitness testimony,
828
00:50:41,204 --> 00:50:44,074
and that is why this day
is so significant.
829
00:50:44,174 --> 00:50:46,543
Mrs. Simms.
830
00:50:46,610 --> 00:50:48,779
Go on and tell it.
831
00:50:48,879 --> 00:50:51,548
- You will never
forget that riot.
832
00:50:51,615 --> 00:50:55,385
That's something that will be
always in your remembrance.
833
00:50:55,452 --> 00:50:58,522
- This has been the age-old
story here in Tulsa.
834
00:50:58,588 --> 00:51:00,057
I never knew what happened
to my great uncle,
835
00:51:00,123 --> 00:51:01,792
never saw
my great aunt again.
836
00:51:01,892 --> 00:51:03,527
You hear those
stories over the ages.
837
00:51:05,095 --> 00:51:06,463
Folks were coming in
with oral history,
838
00:51:06,563 --> 00:51:08,732
where bodies could
be buried.
839
00:51:08,799 --> 00:51:11,868
- We interviewed over
three hundred Tulsans
840
00:51:11,935 --> 00:51:16,039
to identify what we thought
were three very likely spots
841
00:51:16,106 --> 00:51:20,577
in town where massacre victims
were buried in unmarked graves.
842
00:51:25,449 --> 00:51:27,818
- Clyde Eddy took some
of the same steps today
843
00:51:27,918 --> 00:51:31,788
he first took
78 years ago,
844
00:51:31,888 --> 00:51:33,790
days after
the Tulsa Race Riot.
845
00:51:33,890 --> 00:51:36,126
He was ten at the time,
drawn by the curious sight
846
00:51:36,226 --> 00:51:37,727
of men digging a trench
847
00:51:37,794 --> 00:51:39,930
with large boxes
stacked nearby.
848
00:51:42,099 --> 00:51:44,801
- Clyde Eddy talked about
at the age of ten,
849
00:51:44,901 --> 00:51:46,636
when he was at
the Oaklawn Cemetery,
850
00:51:46,736 --> 00:51:50,006
he saw these giant boxes.
851
00:51:51,108 --> 00:51:54,911
He and his cousin would
go to one of these crates.
852
00:51:54,978 --> 00:51:56,313
- We opened the first box,
853
00:51:56,413 --> 00:51:59,449
and there were, um--
excuse me.
854
00:51:59,516 --> 00:52:02,486
There were three bodies
of Black people.
855
00:52:02,586 --> 00:52:04,187
The stench was terrible.
856
00:52:04,287 --> 00:52:06,156
- There were other boxes.
857
00:52:06,256 --> 00:52:07,858
Lift up the lid,
and that saw that there
858
00:52:07,958 --> 00:52:10,460
was Black folks
inside of that one.
859
00:52:13,196 --> 00:52:15,799
Black people
in a box, dead.
860
00:52:15,866 --> 00:52:18,201
That's something that would be
etched in your mind forever,
861
00:52:18,301 --> 00:52:21,838
and so for him to tell
a story with such conviction.
862
00:52:21,938 --> 00:52:23,974
I said, let's
dig 'em up now.
863
00:52:27,477 --> 00:52:30,881
- So many people have said
there were no bodies there.
864
00:52:30,981 --> 00:52:33,049
But you know,
all the Black folk
865
00:52:33,150 --> 00:52:36,887
in the community,
we believe they're there.
866
00:52:36,987 --> 00:52:39,289
Those stories were
passed on to us.
867
00:52:40,790 --> 00:52:43,293
- Inch by inch,
crews are digging into
868
00:52:43,360 --> 00:52:47,063
the history of
the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
869
00:52:47,164 --> 00:52:50,066
Tulsa's mayor, G.T. Bynum,
initiated the investigation
870
00:52:50,167 --> 00:52:52,669
to try and find
if there are any victims
871
00:52:52,736 --> 00:52:54,804
buried in mass graves.
872
00:52:54,871 --> 00:52:58,341
- There was a systematic
cover up of the event.
873
00:52:58,408 --> 00:53:02,078
It should not have
taken 99 years.
874
00:53:05,315 --> 00:53:06,917
- We have to pay attention,
875
00:53:07,017 --> 00:53:09,920
we have to pick up
the charred baton
876
00:53:10,020 --> 00:53:11,354
that has been left
in our hands,
877
00:53:11,421 --> 00:53:14,658
and figure out where
the screams are coming from.
878
00:53:14,724 --> 00:53:25,101
♪♪
879
00:53:25,202 --> 00:53:28,205
- Monday,
May 30, 1921.
880
00:53:29,773 --> 00:53:31,107
It happened to
be Memorial Day.
881
00:53:38,515 --> 00:53:41,384
- May 30th could have happened
at any point in time
882
00:53:41,451 --> 00:53:45,355
because Tulsa was
already a powder keg.
883
00:53:45,422 --> 00:53:47,724
We do know that
the deathly KKK members
884
00:53:47,791 --> 00:53:49,526
that are part
of the police force,
885
00:53:49,593 --> 00:53:52,395
proudly marching down
the street on Memorial Day.
886
00:53:52,462 --> 00:53:54,731
People describe
it as a massacre,
887
00:53:54,798 --> 00:53:57,901
I've been calling it a war.
888
00:53:57,968 --> 00:54:02,906
- There's systemic causes for
what happened here in 1921,
889
00:54:02,973 --> 00:54:06,142
but you fixate on
this trigger incident
890
00:54:06,243 --> 00:54:10,380
that involved a Black boy
and a white girl on an elevator.
891
00:54:10,447 --> 00:54:12,882
The teenage boy is a boy
named Dick Rowland.
892
00:54:16,987 --> 00:54:18,655
He's at work
on Memorial Day,
893
00:54:18,755 --> 00:54:20,957
shining shoes
in Downtown Tulsa.
894
00:54:23,393 --> 00:54:25,495
- Dick Rowland was
nineteen years old
895
00:54:25,595 --> 00:54:28,431
in the spring of 1921.
896
00:54:28,498 --> 00:54:31,501
He worked in
a white-owned
897
00:54:31,601 --> 00:54:34,170
and white-patronized
shine parlor
898
00:54:34,271 --> 00:54:38,141
on Main Street
in Downtown Tulsa.
899
00:54:38,241 --> 00:54:41,177
- His nickname
is "Diamond Dick"
900
00:54:41,278 --> 00:54:44,347
so he's known to be
this flashy young guy.
901
00:54:44,447 --> 00:54:46,616
[laughing]
902
00:54:46,683 --> 00:54:48,818
He is just another person
in the community
903
00:54:48,918 --> 00:54:51,021
that everyone knows,
904
00:54:51,121 --> 00:54:53,623
but he's-he's never been
seen as a troublemaker.
905
00:54:58,962 --> 00:55:00,430
- There's not
a restroom facility
906
00:55:00,497 --> 00:55:03,166
in the shine parlor,
907
00:55:03,266 --> 00:55:05,035
so the white owner
has arranged for them
908
00:55:05,135 --> 00:55:08,438
to walk down Main Street
to the Drexel Building.
909
00:55:10,273 --> 00:55:12,842
On the fourth floor there was,
quote, "a colored restroom".
910
00:55:20,517 --> 00:55:24,454
Something happens when
he enters the elevator.
911
00:55:24,521 --> 00:55:28,391
Elevators are-are manually
operated by a wheel,
912
00:55:28,491 --> 00:55:31,061
it takes a great amount
of skill to get the floor
913
00:55:31,161 --> 00:55:35,131
of the elevator
and the actual floor to line up.
914
00:55:35,198 --> 00:55:38,968
That particular elevator
was very difficult to center,
915
00:55:39,035 --> 00:55:39,869
so the belief is,
916
00:55:43,239 --> 00:55:45,875
that as Dick walked
onto the elevator,
917
00:55:45,975 --> 00:55:48,211
he tripped and just,
by reflex,
918
00:55:48,311 --> 00:55:51,514
threw his hands out
to cushion the fall,
919
00:55:51,581 --> 00:55:54,217
that he grabbed Sarah
by the shoulder,
920
00:55:54,317 --> 00:55:56,753
ripped her dress,
she screams,
921
00:55:56,853 --> 00:56:00,090
and he realizes this
is a dangerous moment for him,
922
00:56:00,190 --> 00:56:01,891
and he runs out
of the elevator
923
00:56:01,991 --> 00:56:03,426
and takes off.
924
00:56:03,526 --> 00:56:06,196
But there was a white clerk
at the Renberg's Clothing Store
925
00:56:06,262 --> 00:56:08,098
who heard the scream,
926
00:56:08,198 --> 00:56:10,700
saw Dick run out
of the building,
927
00:56:10,767 --> 00:56:13,436
and in his mind he puts
two and two together,
928
00:56:13,536 --> 00:56:16,606
and says, "This is
an interracial rape attempt."
929
00:56:18,942 --> 00:56:20,443
The Tulsa Police
are summoned,
930
00:56:20,543 --> 00:56:23,546
but they don't put out
an all-points bulletin
931
00:56:23,613 --> 00:56:24,547
for Dick Rowland,
932
00:56:24,614 --> 00:56:26,850
they don't go
searching for him.
933
00:56:26,916 --> 00:56:30,587
They're not particularly
worried about this event.
934
00:56:30,687 --> 00:56:33,189
However, the Tulsa Tribune,
935
00:56:33,256 --> 00:56:36,559
Tulsa's white daily
afternoon newspaper,
936
00:56:36,626 --> 00:56:38,762
decides to portray
this incident
937
00:56:38,862 --> 00:56:41,264
in a completely
different light.
938
00:56:41,364 --> 00:56:42,766
- The "Tribune"
published an account
939
00:56:42,866 --> 00:56:45,935
of the elevator
incident entitled,
940
00:56:46,035 --> 00:56:49,939
"Nab Negro for Attacking Girl
In an Elevator".
941
00:56:52,108 --> 00:56:54,744
The "Tribune" essentially
claimed that Dick Rowland
942
00:56:54,811 --> 00:56:57,313
tried to rape Sarah Page
in broad daylight
943
00:56:57,414 --> 00:57:00,750
in a public building
in Downtown Tulsa.
944
00:57:00,817 --> 00:57:03,653
The article went
out of its way
945
00:57:03,753 --> 00:57:06,256
to make Sarah Page
look virtuous,
946
00:57:06,322 --> 00:57:08,992
and, as a corollary, to make
Dick Rowland look villainous,
947
00:57:09,092 --> 00:57:11,828
playing on that
white female,
948
00:57:11,928 --> 00:57:14,998
Black male taboo.
949
00:57:15,098 --> 00:57:17,267
- So the next morning,
Tuesday, May 31st,
950
00:57:17,333 --> 00:57:18,668
the Tulsa Police decide,
951
00:57:18,768 --> 00:57:20,470
"We're gonna pick up
Dick Rowland".
952
00:57:20,570 --> 00:57:23,440
So they go to where he lives
with his mother in Greenwood,
953
00:57:23,506 --> 00:57:26,276
arrest him,
954
00:57:26,342 --> 00:57:28,111
take him to
the courthouse, and like,
955
00:57:28,178 --> 00:57:31,181
as with other prisoners,
put him up on the--
956
00:57:31,281 --> 00:57:35,318
in the fourth floor jail.
957
00:57:35,418 --> 00:57:37,921
The first edition
of the "Tulsa Tribune"
958
00:57:37,987 --> 00:57:40,857
hits the streets
around 3:00, 3:30.
959
00:57:43,293 --> 00:57:44,961
Within thirty minutes
there's lynch talks
960
00:57:45,028 --> 00:57:46,596
on the streets of Tulsa.
961
00:57:50,099 --> 00:57:53,002
Lynch talk soon turns
into a lynch mob.
962
00:57:55,605 --> 00:57:57,874
Meanwhile, Black people
are trying to figure out
963
00:57:57,974 --> 00:57:59,809
what's going on,
what to do,
964
00:57:59,876 --> 00:58:02,445
how to organize.
965
00:58:02,512 --> 00:58:04,814
On the stage
of the Dreamland Theatre,
966
00:58:04,881 --> 00:58:07,283
an African-American
World War I Vet
967
00:58:07,350 --> 00:58:10,653
jumps up on the stage and says,
"Shut this place down.
968
00:58:10,720 --> 00:58:13,056
"We ain't gonna let
this happen here."
969
00:58:13,156 --> 00:58:14,824
"It" being a lynching.
970
00:58:16,726 --> 00:58:18,728
There was a feeling
amongst Black vets
971
00:58:18,828 --> 00:58:22,565
that if trouble comes my way,
I ain't dodgin' it.
972
00:58:22,665 --> 00:58:25,835
In Tulsa there had not been
an African-American lynched,
973
00:58:25,902 --> 00:58:28,571
and there were Black men
and women who were prepared
974
00:58:28,671 --> 00:58:32,141
to make sure that
didn't happen.
975
00:58:32,208 --> 00:58:35,545
Around 10:30 at night
or a little before then,
976
00:58:35,645 --> 00:58:37,881
a rumor gets greenlit
977
00:58:37,981 --> 00:58:39,849
that whites are
storming the jail.
978
00:58:42,552 --> 00:58:44,687
Seventy-five
African-American men,
979
00:58:44,754 --> 00:58:48,024
all armed,
drive to the courthouse.
980
00:58:50,026 --> 00:58:52,829
They march up
to the courthouse,
981
00:58:52,896 --> 00:58:54,831
they go up to the sheriff,
982
00:58:54,898 --> 00:58:56,399
who's waiting for them
on the steps,
983
00:58:56,499 --> 00:58:59,903
and they say, "We are here
to help to protect the prisoner
984
00:59:00,003 --> 00:59:01,738
"if you need our help."
985
00:59:01,838 --> 00:59:04,774
Sheriff McCullough says,
"Get the hell out of here,
986
00:59:04,874 --> 00:59:07,343
"I don't want you."
987
00:59:07,410 --> 00:59:09,779
[crowd yelling]
988
00:59:09,879 --> 00:59:13,550
As they are leaving,
an elderly white man
989
00:59:13,616 --> 00:59:17,453
goes up to
a tall Black vet,
990
00:59:17,554 --> 00:59:21,024
and says, "Where you goin'
with that gun?"
991
00:59:21,090 --> 00:59:24,193
And the vet says, "I'm gonna
use it if I need to."
992
00:59:25,361 --> 00:59:27,797
The white man says,
"Like hell you are."
993
00:59:27,897 --> 00:59:30,767
Tries to get the gun,
there's a struggle,
994
00:59:30,867 --> 00:59:31,935
a shot goes off.
995
00:59:32,035 --> 00:59:34,037
[gun shot]
996
00:59:34,103 --> 00:59:36,239
The worst incident
of racial violence
997
00:59:36,306 --> 00:59:37,707
in American history begins.
998
00:59:41,911 --> 00:59:44,881
- As the evening starts
to fall, May 31st,
999
00:59:44,948 --> 00:59:47,483
by seven o'clock there
are already hundreds of people
1000
00:59:47,584 --> 00:59:49,652
circling around
the courthouse.
1001
00:59:49,752 --> 00:59:52,989
By nine, ten is where
things really start to reach
1002
00:59:53,089 --> 00:59:57,427
this sort of, uh boiling point,
and shots are fired.
1003
00:59:57,493 --> 01:00:00,063
At the same time all this
is happening downtown.
1004
01:00:00,129 --> 01:00:02,332
You have people that
are still waiting
1005
01:00:02,432 --> 01:00:04,233
to go to their prom
at Booker T. Washington.
1006
01:00:06,803 --> 01:00:08,471
You have people that
are still going to movies
1007
01:00:08,571 --> 01:00:10,907
in the Dreamland
and the [indistinct] Theater.
1008
01:00:10,974 --> 01:00:13,943
You have people that are still
moving about their lives
1009
01:00:14,010 --> 01:00:15,845
that aren't aware
of what's happening.
1010
01:00:19,649 --> 01:00:23,319
- We went down to
a late show, movie.
1011
01:00:23,419 --> 01:00:25,755
Somebody came in and shouted,
"Nigger fight! Nigger fight!"
1012
01:00:28,191 --> 01:00:30,193
We went out the door
and just got there
1013
01:00:30,293 --> 01:00:32,595
when a Negro ran out
of the alley.
1014
01:00:32,662 --> 01:00:34,530
The minute his head
showed outside,
1015
01:00:34,631 --> 01:00:37,033
somebody shot him.
1016
01:00:37,133 --> 01:00:39,268
And, uh, this man
was shot and rolled out
1017
01:00:39,335 --> 01:00:42,038
in the middle of the street
with a revolver in his hand.
1018
01:00:43,806 --> 01:00:46,142
And this crowd around him
wouldn't let anybody touch him,
1019
01:00:46,209 --> 01:00:49,379
pick him up, wouldn't let
an ambulance take him.
1020
01:00:49,479 --> 01:00:52,548
But he was the first man
that was shot in the riot.
1021
01:00:52,649 --> 01:00:54,784
- Nobody cares about
Dick Rowland anymore.
1022
01:00:54,851 --> 01:00:57,687
The white mob is now out
to get any Black person
1023
01:00:57,787 --> 01:00:59,188
in their sights.
1024
01:01:01,824 --> 01:01:04,827
- The teeming white mob
spilled over the Frisco tracks
1025
01:01:04,894 --> 01:01:07,163
into the Greenwood community...
1026
01:01:09,699 --> 01:01:14,170
- ...carrying rifles,
pistols,
1027
01:01:14,237 --> 01:01:16,906
matches, and cans
of gasoline.
1028
01:01:17,006 --> 01:01:23,379
♪♪
1029
01:01:23,479 --> 01:01:26,582
- In the words of one of
the massacre survivors,
1030
01:01:26,683 --> 01:01:28,017
"All hell broke loose."
1031
01:01:31,220 --> 01:01:33,356
Looting...
1032
01:01:33,423 --> 01:01:35,825
shooting...
1033
01:01:35,892 --> 01:01:39,228
burning, destroying
everything in sight.
1034
01:01:42,832 --> 01:01:46,169
- People are taking
shelter in their homes
1035
01:01:46,235 --> 01:01:47,537
or packing up
their stuff and fleeing,
1036
01:01:47,603 --> 01:01:50,606
whatever they can.
1037
01:01:53,176 --> 01:01:54,610
- My Mother said,
"Here they come,
1038
01:01:54,711 --> 01:01:55,545
"here they come."
1039
01:01:55,611 --> 01:01:57,013
And they came in
the house with torches
1040
01:01:57,080 --> 01:02:00,450
and they set
the house on fire.
1041
01:02:00,550 --> 01:02:03,853
Oh, it was like a nightmare.
Everything was in flames.
1042
01:02:09,792 --> 01:02:12,428
- On the evening
of May 31st,
1043
01:02:12,528 --> 01:02:13,730
my little girl
had not retired
1044
01:02:13,796 --> 01:02:16,466
but was watching the people
from the window.
1045
01:02:16,566 --> 01:02:20,236
She said, "Mother,
I see men with guns."
1046
01:02:20,303 --> 01:02:22,772
Then I ran to the window
and looked out.
1047
01:02:22,872 --> 01:02:25,274
There I saw many people
gathered in little squads,
1048
01:02:25,374 --> 01:02:27,110
talking excitedly.
1049
01:02:27,210 --> 01:02:29,245
There was a great shadow
in the sky,
1050
01:02:29,312 --> 01:02:32,081
and upon second look
we discerned that this cloud
1051
01:02:32,148 --> 01:02:35,885
was caused by
fast-approaching airplanes.
1052
01:02:35,952 --> 01:02:38,454
It then dawned
upon us that the enemy
1053
01:02:38,554 --> 01:02:42,158
had organized in the night
and was invading our district
1054
01:02:42,258 --> 01:02:45,328
the same as the Germans
invaded France.
1055
01:02:45,428 --> 01:02:47,096
I took my little girl,
Florence Mary,
1056
01:02:47,163 --> 01:02:50,333
by the hand and fled out
the West door on Greenwood,
1057
01:02:50,433 --> 01:02:52,969
running amidst
showers of bullets.
1058
01:02:57,473 --> 01:03:00,076
- I was so afraid,
1059
01:03:00,143 --> 01:03:02,812
because bullets were
coming down around us.
1060
01:03:02,912 --> 01:03:06,015
All of the planes
were up in the air,
1061
01:03:06,115 --> 01:03:10,086
shooting down, and I could
hear those bullets falling.
1062
01:03:10,153 --> 01:03:12,522
There were a lot
of people running,
1063
01:03:12,622 --> 01:03:16,926
dodging the bullets,
and just afraid.
1064
01:03:20,096 --> 01:03:21,430
- They're shooting people
on sight,
1065
01:03:21,497 --> 01:03:23,699
even if you're complying
with their demands.
1066
01:03:23,800 --> 01:03:27,103
That's what happened
to Dr. A.C. Jackson.
1067
01:03:27,170 --> 01:03:29,806
- A.C. Jackson was
a prominent Black surgeon,
1068
01:03:29,872 --> 01:03:32,642
he was accosted
at his home,
1069
01:03:32,708 --> 01:03:34,811
he exited his house
in compliance
1070
01:03:34,877 --> 01:03:37,013
with the demands
of the mobsters,
1071
01:03:37,113 --> 01:03:39,549
hands held high.
1072
01:03:39,649 --> 01:03:41,884
But he was actually gunned
down by a young white man
1073
01:03:41,984 --> 01:03:44,153
and he ultimately
bled to death.
1074
01:03:49,192 --> 01:03:53,062
Black men put up
a vigorous, robust defense.
1075
01:03:53,162 --> 01:03:54,564
They were outgunned,
and outnumbered,
1076
01:03:54,664 --> 01:03:56,299
and overmatched.
1077
01:04:03,005 --> 01:04:06,209
The violence
lasted sixteen hours,
1078
01:04:06,309 --> 01:04:09,245
a unit of the National Guard
sent in from Oklahoma City.
1079
01:04:09,345 --> 01:04:13,749
♪♪
1080
01:04:13,850 --> 01:04:17,720
When the dust settled,
at least 1,250 homes
1081
01:04:17,820 --> 01:04:19,856
in the Black community
were destroyed.
1082
01:04:21,991 --> 01:04:25,027
Between 100 and 300 people,
most of them Black,
1083
01:04:25,094 --> 01:04:26,429
were killed.
1084
01:04:26,529 --> 01:04:39,208
♪♪
1085
01:04:39,275 --> 01:04:40,443
- So twenty years ago,
1086
01:04:40,543 --> 01:04:41,911
we had a mayor here
that said, "Hey.
1087
01:04:42,011 --> 01:04:44,247
"We're gonna go into Oaklawn
and were gonna excavate,
1088
01:04:44,347 --> 01:04:47,783
"because we have an idea
of where some bodies might be."
1089
01:04:49,685 --> 01:04:51,954
- We brought in ground
penetrating radar;
1090
01:04:52,054 --> 01:04:55,024
they showed that there were
anomalies in these areas.
1091
01:04:56,859 --> 01:04:59,629
- I was twenty years younger,
standing out in Oaklawn.
1092
01:05:01,464 --> 01:05:02,732
We were all out there,
1093
01:05:02,798 --> 01:05:04,634
but we were about
to do this, right?
1094
01:05:08,571 --> 01:05:09,772
They called it
off abruptly
1095
01:05:09,872 --> 01:05:11,641
because there was
a white family
1096
01:05:11,741 --> 01:05:16,279
that did not want
that area to be disturbed.
1097
01:05:16,379 --> 01:05:19,081
They suggested that
there was a, perhaps,
1098
01:05:19,148 --> 01:05:22,418
a white body that
was buried underground
1099
01:05:22,485 --> 01:05:23,986
and that that body
would have been disturbed
1100
01:05:24,086 --> 01:05:26,055
as you're looking
for race massacre dead.
1101
01:05:29,292 --> 01:05:31,727
- Our effort got
caught up in politics.
1102
01:05:31,794 --> 01:05:33,396
- A bunch of lawmakers,
1103
01:05:33,462 --> 01:05:35,431
they pretty much
didn't really care.
1104
01:05:35,498 --> 01:05:38,067
It made the state
look bad.
1105
01:05:38,134 --> 01:05:41,070
- I am thoroughly convinced
1106
01:05:41,137 --> 01:05:43,673
that the state of Oklahoma
was not culpable.
1107
01:05:45,441 --> 01:05:47,643
- We were shut down
by the City of Tulsa,
1108
01:05:47,743 --> 01:05:49,312
and at that point,
I, you know,
1109
01:05:49,412 --> 01:05:51,080
I thought the ballgame
was over.
1110
01:05:57,820 --> 01:05:58,854
- For some people it's like,
1111
01:05:58,955 --> 01:06:00,690
"Why are you guys
desecrating the grave?"
1112
01:06:00,790 --> 01:06:02,525
- Right.
- We're not
desecrating graves,
1113
01:06:02,625 --> 01:06:04,994
we're finding out the truth.
- And those answers--
1114
01:06:05,094 --> 01:06:07,496
ancestors had never
had a proper burial.
1115
01:06:07,596 --> 01:06:08,798
- Absolutely.
1116
01:06:11,434 --> 01:06:13,202
- I was on the City Council
at the time.
1117
01:06:16,439 --> 01:06:19,375
Years later,
a local journalist--
1118
01:06:19,475 --> 01:06:21,978
- My name's Lee Roy Chapman,
and this is "Public Secrets".
1119
01:06:22,044 --> 01:06:25,314
- He did a video series
about Tulsa's hidden secrets.
1120
01:06:25,381 --> 01:06:26,682
[squeaking]
1121
01:06:26,782 --> 01:06:29,151
And one of them,
I was watching...
1122
01:06:29,218 --> 01:06:31,787
- Um, Oaklawn Cemetery
has been rumored
1123
01:06:31,854 --> 01:06:34,523
for nearly a hundred years
to be the, uh,
1124
01:06:34,623 --> 01:06:36,459
location of a mass grave,
1125
01:06:36,525 --> 01:06:38,894
uh, attributed to
the Tulsa Race Riot.
1126
01:06:38,995 --> 01:06:41,297
- What's my
immediate reaction?
1127
01:06:41,364 --> 01:06:44,166
There is no way that
could possibly be true.
1128
01:06:44,233 --> 01:06:46,702
The mass grave
in Oaklawn cemetery,
1129
01:06:46,802 --> 01:06:49,071
where my great grandparents
are buried,
1130
01:06:49,171 --> 01:06:50,139
and that no one would have
ever bothered to look.
1131
01:06:55,511 --> 01:06:59,048
This is a historic day
for Tulsa and for our country
1132
01:06:59,148 --> 01:07:03,652
as we begin a test excavation
in Oaklawn Cemetery.
1133
01:07:05,388 --> 01:07:07,590
- There's nothing abstract,
there's nothing theoretical.
1134
01:07:07,690 --> 01:07:09,258
This is not
a research project.
1135
01:07:09,358 --> 01:07:11,594
This is an investigation.
1136
01:07:11,694 --> 01:07:14,030
- Scientists are set to
finally break ground
1137
01:07:14,096 --> 01:07:18,601
in the effort to find victims
of the Tulsa Race Massacre.
1138
01:07:18,701 --> 01:07:20,770
- Nearly 100 years later,
the families to victims
1139
01:07:20,870 --> 01:07:23,205
of the 1921 Tulsa
Race Massacre
1140
01:07:23,272 --> 01:07:26,409
could get answers
and closure.
1141
01:07:26,509 --> 01:07:28,077
- It should have been done
well before now,
1142
01:07:28,177 --> 01:07:29,945
but it wasn't.
1143
01:07:30,046 --> 01:07:33,082
That is a baton that's
been handed to us,
1144
01:07:33,182 --> 01:07:36,052
and it is--
it is not an easy race.
1145
01:07:39,388 --> 01:07:43,292
The initial excavation will
be focused on a location
1146
01:07:43,392 --> 01:07:46,062
within Oaklawn Cemetery that
we felt had a high likelihood
1147
01:07:46,128 --> 01:07:49,465
for encountering
a mass grave.
1148
01:07:49,565 --> 01:07:52,234
We focused on
an anomaly,
1149
01:07:52,301 --> 01:07:54,136
uh, that had
been detected.
1150
01:07:56,272 --> 01:07:58,441
That anomaly to us
was an indication
1151
01:07:58,541 --> 01:08:00,976
that it was possibly
a mass grave.
1152
01:08:03,779 --> 01:08:06,482
As we were excavating down,
we very quickly realized
1153
01:08:06,582 --> 01:08:09,285
that we had materials
that didn't really belong there.
1154
01:08:13,222 --> 01:08:15,391
- The search turned up
many old artifacts,
1155
01:08:15,458 --> 01:08:18,160
but after reaching three
and a half meters in depth,
1156
01:08:18,260 --> 01:08:21,330
the excavation was
called off on Wednesday.
1157
01:08:21,430 --> 01:08:24,400
- We do not have indications
of a mass grave, um,
1158
01:08:24,467 --> 01:08:26,235
in this portion
of Oaklawn Cemetery.
1159
01:08:31,107 --> 01:08:34,410
There is a-a heavy weight
of responsibility
1160
01:08:34,477 --> 01:08:37,847
that comes with trying
to assist in this effort.
1161
01:08:39,415 --> 01:08:40,449
There is that
sense of optimism
1162
01:08:40,516 --> 01:08:43,619
that comes from the fact
that the investigation
1163
01:08:43,686 --> 01:08:46,789
has been reopened.
1164
01:08:49,125 --> 01:08:52,027
But you-you also are
worried because it has--
1165
01:08:52,127 --> 01:08:53,295
there's a perpetual feeling
1166
01:08:53,362 --> 01:08:55,297
that the other shoe
is gonna fall,
1167
01:08:55,364 --> 01:08:58,767
and this expectation
of disappointment.
1168
01:08:58,834 --> 01:09:03,105
But it's extremely important
to remember why we're there
1169
01:09:03,172 --> 01:09:05,541
and who we're
trying to find.
1170
01:09:12,281 --> 01:09:15,885
- Sometimes stuff just makes
you want to just give up,
1171
01:09:15,985 --> 01:09:17,486
but other times those
are those times like,
1172
01:09:17,553 --> 01:09:19,488
no, you keep going,
1173
01:09:19,555 --> 01:09:21,857
'cause the ancestors are
not gonna let you give up,
1174
01:09:21,957 --> 01:09:23,225
they're gonna
keep pushing you.
1175
01:09:23,325 --> 01:09:26,195
When you say you quit,
they say, "No, you don't",
1176
01:09:26,295 --> 01:09:29,832
it puts you right back up
and do it all over again.
1177
01:09:29,899 --> 01:09:31,534
- That's why
it's cold today.
1178
01:09:31,634 --> 01:09:32,801
The ancestors are like,
1179
01:09:32,868 --> 01:09:34,803
"You're gonna feel the chill
of my bones today, man."
1180
01:09:34,870 --> 01:09:37,072
- Ooohh.
- Yes.
1181
01:09:37,173 --> 01:09:38,307
- Ooohh.
1182
01:09:38,374 --> 01:09:39,475
- That's what-that's
what they want us to feel.
1183
01:09:39,542 --> 01:09:41,577
They want everybody to feel
what that feels like.
1184
01:09:46,982 --> 01:09:48,884
- There's all kinds
of good things
1185
01:09:48,984 --> 01:09:50,586
that you find
in South Tulsa.
1186
01:09:50,686 --> 01:09:54,023
You'll find computer stores,
you'll find bookstores,
1187
01:09:54,089 --> 01:09:56,926
you'll find
twenty-four hour pharmacy,
1188
01:09:57,026 --> 01:09:58,761
you'll find
health food stores.
1189
01:09:58,861 --> 01:10:01,263
None of those things
can be found in North Tulsa.
1190
01:10:01,363 --> 01:10:04,600
North Tulsa's a food desert,
and that's got to change.
1191
01:10:11,507 --> 01:10:13,676
- One of the things that
people don't generally know
1192
01:10:13,742 --> 01:10:16,245
is that the Greenwood community
actually came back
1193
01:10:16,345 --> 01:10:18,214
after it was destroyed.
1194
01:10:19,381 --> 01:10:21,951
- It was rebuilt because
the rural community, uh,
1195
01:10:22,051 --> 01:10:26,722
rural lands were still
owned mostly by Black folk.
1196
01:10:29,925 --> 01:10:31,894
But by the 1960s,
1197
01:10:31,961 --> 01:10:33,963
these towns started
to disappear.
1198
01:10:37,233 --> 01:10:40,803
- There is this idea that
Greenwood was destroyed in 1921,
1199
01:10:40,903 --> 01:10:42,738
and that's the end
of the story.
1200
01:10:42,805 --> 01:10:45,774
But there's 100 years after that
that we need to talk about.
1201
01:10:49,712 --> 01:10:52,248
- Tulsa is just a tale
of two cities.
1202
01:11:00,122 --> 01:11:02,958
North Tulsa's a predominantly
African-American community.
1203
01:11:08,097 --> 01:11:11,600
And South Tulsa you have
predominantly white community.
1204
01:11:13,636 --> 01:11:17,239
This city of Tulsa is
the most segregated city,
1205
01:11:17,306 --> 01:11:20,009
geographically,
economically,
1206
01:11:20,109 --> 01:11:23,679
socially, and all
of the above.
1207
01:11:26,949 --> 01:11:27,816
- Growing up in North Tulsa,
1208
01:11:31,587 --> 01:11:34,023
I started to notice
buildings looked different,
1209
01:11:34,123 --> 01:11:35,824
institutions
looked different.
1210
01:11:39,295 --> 01:11:41,130
Wow, there's
a whole 'nother world
1211
01:11:41,196 --> 01:11:42,631
I wasn't even aware of.
1212
01:11:47,503 --> 01:11:50,606
We've already
experienced dislocation,
1213
01:11:50,673 --> 01:11:52,808
urban removal,
1214
01:11:52,875 --> 01:11:54,510
eminent domain,
1215
01:11:54,610 --> 01:11:56,779
all of those things.
1216
01:11:59,281 --> 01:12:03,452
Those people who lived in
Greenwood saw its demise twice.
1217
01:12:03,519 --> 01:12:06,021
[explosion rumbling]
1218
01:12:13,896 --> 01:12:17,132
- The people who have lived in
an urban center for many years
1219
01:12:17,199 --> 01:12:19,535
certainly do have rights.
1220
01:12:20,969 --> 01:12:25,474
However, they do not
have the right to frustrate
1221
01:12:25,541 --> 01:12:28,677
the creative efforts of
very diligent people
1222
01:12:28,744 --> 01:12:30,879
who are trying
to bring back
1223
01:12:30,979 --> 01:12:34,483
vitality, and wholeness,
and beauty into the city.
1224
01:12:39,488 --> 01:12:41,657
- I grew up at
1415 North Greenwood.
1225
01:12:41,724 --> 01:12:44,493
We owned the house
on Greenwood.
1226
01:12:44,560 --> 01:12:47,529
When I grew up, I had
a church in front of me,
1227
01:12:47,596 --> 01:12:51,500
right literally behind me
was the school that I went to,
1228
01:12:51,567 --> 01:12:52,901
to my right was
the Black hospital
1229
01:12:53,001 --> 01:12:55,904
that I was born in,
that was Morton Hospital,
1230
01:12:56,004 --> 01:12:58,374
and then we had
Jack's Memory Chapel
1231
01:12:58,440 --> 01:13:00,676
right there,
so the whole cycle of life
1232
01:13:00,743 --> 01:13:03,679
was right within a block
and a half of me where I lived.
1233
01:13:03,746 --> 01:13:05,848
That's the community
I grew up in.
1234
01:13:05,914 --> 01:13:08,951
As happened in every city
across this nation
1235
01:13:09,051 --> 01:13:11,720
in the sixties, seventies,
1236
01:13:11,787 --> 01:13:14,123
there was something
called urban,
1237
01:13:14,223 --> 01:13:16,725
what they call renewal,
what I call urban removal.
1238
01:13:20,095 --> 01:13:21,263
Yeah, I love that.
1239
01:13:21,363 --> 01:13:22,464
Yeah, when they want
to talk about Black folks,
1240
01:13:22,564 --> 01:13:23,799
right, instead of saying,
"Black folks live over here.
1241
01:13:23,899 --> 01:13:25,768
"That's the urban area."
Right?
1242
01:13:25,868 --> 01:13:27,569
"That's urban music."
1243
01:13:27,636 --> 01:13:30,572
Just call things
as they are.
1244
01:13:30,639 --> 01:13:32,941
- To whites,
the words urban renewal
1245
01:13:33,041 --> 01:13:35,577
have a promising,
hopeful sound.
1246
01:13:35,644 --> 01:13:38,080
But to Blacks,
they mean move out.
1247
01:13:38,147 --> 01:13:41,550
In a block like this,
as many as a thousand men,
1248
01:13:41,617 --> 01:13:43,886
women, and children
have been forced out
1249
01:13:43,952 --> 01:13:47,156
in the name of some
progress yet to come.
1250
01:13:47,256 --> 01:13:50,459
- So urban renewal was coming
through telling you all,
1251
01:13:50,559 --> 01:13:51,994
"Those houses that
you're living in here,
1252
01:13:52,094 --> 01:13:54,563
"we have a better use"
as they say,
1253
01:13:54,630 --> 01:13:57,766
"a greater use
for this land."
1254
01:13:57,833 --> 01:13:58,734
And they tell you,
1255
01:13:58,801 --> 01:14:00,335
"We're gonna renew
your community,
1256
01:14:00,436 --> 01:14:04,239
"and this is gonna be better
then you left it."
1257
01:14:04,306 --> 01:14:08,677
They moved us out of our houses
for the "greater good".
1258
01:14:08,777 --> 01:14:11,580
We were dislocated
from our home.
1259
01:14:11,647 --> 01:14:14,783
And when I tell you
there's still a big space
1260
01:14:14,850 --> 01:14:16,418
at 1415 North Greenwood,
1261
01:14:16,485 --> 01:14:20,022
nothing was ever built there,
but they told us we had to go.
1262
01:14:20,122 --> 01:14:22,991
And then you saw
the decline of Greenwood
1263
01:14:23,091 --> 01:14:26,695
as you saw folks moved out
of their homes.
1264
01:14:28,964 --> 01:14:33,602
- The reason and the causes
of this economic downturn
1265
01:14:33,669 --> 01:14:36,705
was the construction
of the Crosstown Expressway
1266
01:14:36,805 --> 01:14:40,542
that cut through
the heart of Greenwood.
1267
01:14:40,642 --> 01:14:43,111
In fact, they took
the heart out.
1268
01:14:43,178 --> 01:14:45,347
Urban renewal and this
major highway construction
1269
01:14:45,447 --> 01:14:48,550
really took out the--
most of the entrepreneurial,
1270
01:14:48,650 --> 01:14:51,487
uh, businesses
that were there.
1271
01:14:51,553 --> 01:14:54,456
- Just this area's changed
a lot with the, uh--
1272
01:14:54,523 --> 01:14:56,158
uh, Crosstown coming through.
1273
01:14:56,225 --> 01:14:58,227
Hasn't a lot
of the business moved out?
1274
01:14:58,327 --> 01:14:59,495
- That's correct.
1275
01:14:59,561 --> 01:15:00,362
- What happened in Tulsa
1276
01:15:00,462 --> 01:15:02,130
happened all over
the United States.
1277
01:15:02,197 --> 01:15:04,233
Highways were located
right through the heart
1278
01:15:04,333 --> 01:15:05,734
of communities of color.
1279
01:15:07,870 --> 01:15:11,907
- I started photographing
back in 1969
1280
01:15:12,007 --> 01:15:15,377
here at North Tulsa,
the Greenwood area.
1281
01:15:15,477 --> 01:15:18,580
And what I saw in
the Greenwood area was that
1282
01:15:18,680 --> 01:15:21,149
there were a lot of businesses
that were closing up.
1283
01:15:21,216 --> 01:15:23,218
One of those photographs
that I took on Greenwood,
1284
01:15:23,318 --> 01:15:26,421
he was a tall gentle,
and erect proud Black man,
1285
01:15:26,522 --> 01:15:31,260
I call it Baltimore Barbershop
that I took in 1970.
1286
01:15:31,360 --> 01:15:32,427
He went to the window
and started
1287
01:15:32,528 --> 01:15:36,498
looking out the window,
and what he saw was
1288
01:15:36,565 --> 01:15:40,168
bulldozers tearing down
buildings in front of him.
1289
01:15:41,870 --> 01:15:43,605
And I asked him
what he thought about that,
1290
01:15:43,705 --> 01:15:46,842
and he said, "Well, I think
I'm gonna be next."
1291
01:15:49,244 --> 01:15:51,246
So I took his photograph
1292
01:15:51,346 --> 01:15:54,116
and, uh,
the next day I came back,
1293
01:15:54,216 --> 01:15:56,118
sure enough,
his business was gone
1294
01:15:56,218 --> 01:15:58,453
and so was he.
1295
01:15:58,554 --> 01:16:02,257
Most of the businesses
in that area were boarded up,
1296
01:16:02,357 --> 01:16:05,460
and all that remained
was a [indistinct]
1297
01:16:05,561 --> 01:16:07,462
of Black Wall Street.
1298
01:16:07,563 --> 01:16:09,097
It was no longer
Black Wall Street,
1299
01:16:09,197 --> 01:16:10,799
it was a ghost town.
1300
01:16:10,899 --> 01:16:17,906
♪♪
1301
01:16:30,285 --> 01:16:32,988
- Oh man, I tell ya...
1302
01:16:46,602 --> 01:16:50,072
- We owned
a skating rink there.
1303
01:16:50,138 --> 01:16:54,910
During the riot
it got burned down,
1304
01:16:54,977 --> 01:16:58,447
our home got burned down.
1305
01:16:58,513 --> 01:17:01,917
We lost all of this--
our property, our home.
1306
01:17:08,824 --> 01:17:14,930
- Every church,
our schoolhouses was blown up.
1307
01:17:24,006 --> 01:17:25,540
People were killed,
and you go in
1308
01:17:25,641 --> 01:17:27,342
and see the people mangled.
1309
01:17:30,612 --> 01:17:33,148
And then some people
you never heard of anymore of,
1310
01:17:33,215 --> 01:17:36,051
you don't know where they--
whether they were killed,
1311
01:17:36,151 --> 01:17:38,787
whether they'd just left town.
1312
01:18:13,188 --> 01:18:18,527
- On the morning of June 1st,
after the massacres,
1313
01:18:18,593 --> 01:18:22,230
the National Guard
and some police
1314
01:18:22,330 --> 01:18:25,500
and maybe some civilians
began rounding up
1315
01:18:25,567 --> 01:18:28,870
all of the African-American
population in Greenwood
1316
01:18:28,937 --> 01:18:31,740
that they-that they could.
1317
01:18:31,840 --> 01:18:36,344
There were between five and
seven thousand people detained.
1318
01:18:39,281 --> 01:18:41,683
And the reason given
for that was that
1319
01:18:41,750 --> 01:18:43,618
it was for
their own protection,
1320
01:18:43,719 --> 01:18:46,455
that they were gonna be put
some place safe.
1321
01:18:46,555 --> 01:18:48,724
Everybody who was still
in custody
1322
01:18:48,790 --> 01:18:52,728
was moved to the fairgrounds
east of Greenwood.
1323
01:18:52,794 --> 01:18:55,230
They set up cots
in a kitchen,
1324
01:18:55,297 --> 01:18:58,433
they dug latrines.
1325
01:18:58,533 --> 01:19:01,470
The people who stayed there
were expected to work.
1326
01:19:01,570 --> 01:19:04,473
The women would
prepare the meals,
1327
01:19:04,573 --> 01:19:08,276
the men were sent out to work
cleaning up Greenwood.
1328
01:19:13,815 --> 01:19:15,117
- Folks in these
internment camps
1329
01:19:15,217 --> 01:19:19,054
had to have a green card.
1330
01:19:19,121 --> 01:19:21,623
- I don't know how they got
these little cards
1331
01:19:21,723 --> 01:19:22,624
printed so fast,
1332
01:19:22,724 --> 01:19:25,293
but everybody had
a little I.D. card,
1333
01:19:25,393 --> 01:19:28,663
school children and all,
told what you did,
1334
01:19:28,764 --> 01:19:30,899
and you had to have
that little I.D.
1335
01:19:30,966 --> 01:19:32,667
wherever you went.
1336
01:19:32,768 --> 01:19:35,070
- And to get out of these
internment centers,
1337
01:19:35,137 --> 01:19:37,606
they needed to be countersigned
by a white person.
1338
01:19:37,672 --> 01:19:40,008
Essentially, a white person
would vouch for them
1339
01:19:40,108 --> 01:19:42,444
and get them out of
these internment centers.
1340
01:19:44,780 --> 01:19:47,315
The theory at--
by the authorities
1341
01:19:47,415 --> 01:19:49,651
was that this was done
to protect people
1342
01:19:49,751 --> 01:19:52,687
from physical harm
in a context of
1343
01:19:52,788 --> 01:19:55,023
this chaotic situation.
1344
01:19:55,123 --> 01:19:57,492
There wasn't a lot of
justification that was needed
1345
01:19:57,592 --> 01:20:00,128
because who has power
and who doesn't?
1346
01:20:02,531 --> 01:20:06,868
- The people who had homes
to go to went to those homes.
1347
01:20:06,968 --> 01:20:10,705
Some people left town.
1348
01:20:10,806 --> 01:20:12,140
The Red Cross
was operating out of
1349
01:20:12,207 --> 01:20:14,209
Booker T. Washington
High School,
1350
01:20:14,309 --> 01:20:16,945
and the Red Cross would buy them
a train ticket
1351
01:20:17,012 --> 01:20:20,115
if they wanted to leave town.
1352
01:20:20,182 --> 01:20:22,150
- I found that
the high school building
1353
01:20:22,217 --> 01:20:23,852
was still standing.
1354
01:20:23,952 --> 01:20:27,689
I saw a big white streamer
with a red cross on it.
1355
01:20:27,789 --> 01:20:30,225
I felt pangs of joy,
for this meant to me
1356
01:20:30,325 --> 01:20:34,296
that I was getting in close
touch with friends again.
1357
01:20:34,362 --> 01:20:37,699
I breathed a prayer
of thanks.
1358
01:20:37,799 --> 01:20:40,635
- The Red Cross began
obtaining these tents
1359
01:20:40,702 --> 01:20:43,138
that people could live in.
1360
01:20:43,205 --> 01:20:45,874
- Many Black families
spent days, weeks, months
1361
01:20:45,974 --> 01:20:49,744
living in tent cities
on the charred earth.
1362
01:21:01,857 --> 01:21:04,893
- Everything they had was gone,
and they were expected
1363
01:21:04,993 --> 01:21:06,361
to immediately
just go about their lives
1364
01:21:06,428 --> 01:21:09,531
like nothing had happened.
1365
01:21:09,598 --> 01:21:13,001
Y-You have to think
the trauma was-was terrible.
1366
01:21:18,940 --> 01:21:22,377
- When we reaching the house,
I saw my piano
1367
01:21:22,444 --> 01:21:26,114
and all my elegant furniture
piled in the street.
1368
01:21:27,515 --> 01:21:33,622
My safe had been broken open,
all my money stolen,
1369
01:21:33,722 --> 01:21:36,691
all my silverware,
cut glass,
1370
01:21:36,758 --> 01:21:38,593
all my family clothing,
1371
01:21:38,693 --> 01:21:42,631
and everything of value
had been removed,
1372
01:21:42,731 --> 01:21:45,901
even my family Bible.
1373
01:21:45,967 --> 01:21:46,868
Our car was stolen
1374
01:21:46,935 --> 01:21:49,738
and most of my large rugs
were taken.
1375
01:21:49,804 --> 01:21:52,707
I lost seventeen houses
that paid me an average
1376
01:21:52,774 --> 01:21:55,911
of over $425 per month.
1377
01:21:57,412 --> 01:22:11,993
♪♪
1378
01:22:13,762 --> 01:22:16,231
- Riot is a term of art, really.
1379
01:22:16,298 --> 01:22:18,066
These events
throughout the nation
1380
01:22:18,133 --> 01:22:20,468
during this period were called
"Race Riots".
1381
01:22:23,438 --> 01:22:26,474
And it's significant in part
because insurance polices,
1382
01:22:26,574 --> 01:22:28,176
for example,
during that period
1383
01:22:28,276 --> 01:22:30,612
often had
exclusionary clauses.
1384
01:22:30,679 --> 01:22:32,981
And so if your damage
was occasioned by riot
1385
01:22:33,081 --> 01:22:34,082
or civil unrest,
1386
01:22:34,149 --> 01:22:35,951
the insurance company
didn't have to pay.
1387
01:22:37,585 --> 01:22:40,355
One of the things
we know is that
1388
01:22:40,455 --> 01:22:41,923
a number of people in the mob
1389
01:22:41,990 --> 01:22:43,124
that destroyed
the Greenwood community
1390
01:22:43,191 --> 01:22:47,262
were deputized by
local law enforcement officers;
1391
01:22:47,329 --> 01:22:49,698
much of that was done
by a wink and a nod.
1392
01:22:49,798 --> 01:22:52,100
Those people knew that
they were not going to be
1393
01:22:52,167 --> 01:22:55,470
impeded by
law enforcement.
1394
01:22:55,537 --> 01:22:57,872
The massacre was referred to,
in some documents,
1395
01:22:57,973 --> 01:23:00,709
as a Negro uprising,
which suggests that
1396
01:23:00,809 --> 01:23:04,212
the Black community's
to blame.
1397
01:23:06,314 --> 01:23:09,150
- In the immediate aftermath
there was a grand jury,
1398
01:23:09,217 --> 01:23:13,221
and it indicted,
I think it's 88 people.
1399
01:23:13,321 --> 01:23:16,992
Some of whom were white,
most of whom were Black.
1400
01:23:17,058 --> 01:23:20,128
- First was the indictment
of J.B. Stradford
1401
01:23:20,195 --> 01:23:22,897
who owned a hotel
and was a lawyer.
1402
01:23:22,998 --> 01:23:24,966
A.J. Smitherman was the editor
and publisher of
1403
01:23:25,033 --> 01:23:26,067
"The Tulsa Star",
1404
01:23:26,167 --> 01:23:29,337
which is the leading
Black newspaper.
1405
01:23:29,404 --> 01:23:31,406
He, along with a number
of other Black men
1406
01:23:31,506 --> 01:23:34,542
was indicted
for inciting a riot.
1407
01:23:35,977 --> 01:23:38,313
- Let the blame for
this Negro uprising
1408
01:23:38,380 --> 01:23:42,250
lie right where it belongs:
on those armed Negroes
1409
01:23:42,350 --> 01:23:44,519
and their followers
who started this trouble
1410
01:23:44,586 --> 01:23:46,154
and who instigated it.
1411
01:23:46,221 --> 01:23:48,590
And any persons who seeks
to put half the blame
1412
01:23:48,690 --> 01:23:50,759
on the white people
are wrong.
1413
01:23:56,431 --> 01:23:59,768
- It is one of the big ironies
of-of all of this
1414
01:23:59,868 --> 01:24:03,104
that the two people
who are most often seen
1415
01:24:03,204 --> 01:24:05,006
at the center of it
are two people
1416
01:24:05,073 --> 01:24:07,942
that we know very,
very little about.
1417
01:24:08,043 --> 01:24:12,347
Sarah Page left
the day after the massacre.
1418
01:24:12,414 --> 01:24:14,082
She left town
and never came back
1419
01:24:14,182 --> 01:24:15,550
as far as we know.
1420
01:24:15,617 --> 01:24:18,686
Dick Rowland, it appears,
remained in jail
1421
01:24:18,753 --> 01:24:21,589
through the summer
and then was released.
1422
01:24:21,689 --> 01:24:24,392
In September,
the county attorney said
1423
01:24:24,459 --> 01:24:26,061
he'd received a letter
from Sarah Page
1424
01:24:26,127 --> 01:24:28,630
asking not to press charges.
1425
01:24:28,730 --> 01:24:32,767
People had really
lost interest in it.
1426
01:24:32,867 --> 01:24:35,103
- No white person's
ever held accountable
1427
01:24:35,203 --> 01:24:39,908
for the some 100 to 300 deaths
that we believe occurred, uh,
1428
01:24:39,974 --> 01:24:41,976
during the massacre.
1429
01:24:45,613 --> 01:24:47,916
- I've never spoken to
a white Tulsan
1430
01:24:47,982 --> 01:24:50,485
who would admit to be
a member of the mob
1431
01:24:50,585 --> 01:24:51,386
during the riot.
1432
01:24:51,453 --> 01:24:52,987
And one reason is simply this:
1433
01:24:53,088 --> 01:24:55,623
there's no statute
of limitations on murder.
1434
01:24:55,723 --> 01:24:58,993
These homicides have now entered
the historic realm,
1435
01:24:59,094 --> 01:25:00,829
they can no longer
be prosecuted,
1436
01:25:00,929 --> 01:25:03,231
there's no one left
to prosecute.
1437
01:25:07,936 --> 01:25:12,674
- The massacre destroyed
the superstructure,
1438
01:25:12,774 --> 01:25:16,578
but miraculously
the basement survived.
1439
01:25:22,784 --> 01:25:27,455
This is a picture
of the basement.
1440
01:25:27,522 --> 01:25:30,425
So this picture was taken
August 1921,
1441
01:25:30,492 --> 01:25:34,095
and the massacre happened
May 31st through June 1st.
1442
01:25:34,162 --> 01:25:35,763
People came and hid
in our basement
1443
01:25:35,830 --> 01:25:36,798
during the massacre.
1444
01:25:36,865 --> 01:25:39,934
You see ashes
above every window piece
1445
01:25:40,001 --> 01:25:43,037
except the back window.
1446
01:25:45,607 --> 01:25:48,977
So this is the space
where that window frame
1447
01:25:49,043 --> 01:25:51,946
that we saw
that had no ash on top of it,
1448
01:25:52,013 --> 01:25:53,148
it's still right there.
1449
01:25:53,214 --> 01:25:56,184
If you can imagine people
being in this room
1450
01:25:56,284 --> 01:25:59,954
not knowing if the fire
would somehow come through
1451
01:26:00,021 --> 01:26:01,656
or come from above,
1452
01:26:01,723 --> 01:26:06,895
but they managed to survive
in this space.
1453
01:26:08,963 --> 01:26:12,734
When I learn about bodies
being dumped in mass graves
1454
01:26:12,834 --> 01:26:16,037
and not ever receiving
a proper burial,
1455
01:26:16,137 --> 01:26:18,640
that touched me as a pastor
on a visceral level.
1456
01:26:20,175 --> 01:26:30,151
♪♪
1457
01:26:30,218 --> 01:26:35,356
As a pastor,
when you bury somebody
1458
01:26:35,423 --> 01:26:38,860
it's more than just
giving a eulogy.
1459
01:26:38,927 --> 01:26:41,829
When we do what we call
the committal,
1460
01:26:41,896 --> 01:26:45,433
which is that ashes to ashes,
that dust to dust
1461
01:26:45,533 --> 01:26:47,335
over their bodies,
1462
01:26:47,402 --> 01:26:52,040
that is our way of
spiritually releasing them
1463
01:26:52,106 --> 01:26:57,345
to go wherever
they're going.
1464
01:26:59,781 --> 01:27:06,955
And to deny that to the people
that were dumped or killed
1465
01:27:07,055 --> 01:27:10,858
during the race massacre
is evil!
1466
01:27:12,060 --> 01:27:15,230
It shows you that
at that time period
1467
01:27:15,296 --> 01:27:18,800
people didn't even care about
the souls of Black folks,
1468
01:27:18,900 --> 01:27:22,270
let alone their bodies.
1469
01:27:22,370 --> 01:27:26,441
I believe there is
no expiration date on morality,
1470
01:27:26,541 --> 01:27:28,977
and if it was wrong in 1921
1471
01:27:29,077 --> 01:27:32,380
and that it has not
been repaired for today,
1472
01:27:32,447 --> 01:27:35,483
then we ought to
do something about it.
1473
01:27:41,623 --> 01:27:45,727
- One of the most basic,
I think, responsibilities
1474
01:27:45,793 --> 01:27:48,930
that a city has to
the residents who live there
1475
01:27:48,997 --> 01:27:52,166
is if you're murdered,
we'll do everything we can
1476
01:27:52,267 --> 01:27:54,335
to try to find out
what happened to you,
1477
01:27:54,435 --> 01:27:56,004
to find your remains
for your family,
1478
01:27:56,104 --> 01:27:59,574
and to render justice for you
and your family.
1479
01:28:03,111 --> 01:28:05,613
- It makes me feel, um,
1480
01:28:05,680 --> 01:28:09,017
kind of like Charlie Brown said,
"good grief."
1481
01:28:09,117 --> 01:28:13,254
Because it's good that
we unveiled the story,
1482
01:28:13,321 --> 01:28:17,659
but it's grief to us
as we unveil it.
1483
01:28:17,759 --> 01:28:19,193
Tell it right.
1484
01:28:19,294 --> 01:28:23,665
They took those planes
from that oil field
1485
01:28:23,765 --> 01:28:26,968
and they planned
an aerial attack,
1486
01:28:27,035 --> 01:28:29,037
and that's what
makes it different
1487
01:28:29,137 --> 01:28:33,675
from all the other
race riots in America.
1488
01:28:33,775 --> 01:28:35,476
Tell it right.
1489
01:28:35,543 --> 01:28:38,513
They bombed us,
they bombed us.
1490
01:28:40,148 --> 01:28:56,030
♪♪
1491
01:28:57,565 --> 01:28:59,367
- There's something
very spiritual
1492
01:28:59,467 --> 01:29:02,070
about this work.
1493
01:29:05,740 --> 01:29:08,009
And anybody who thinks
that this sacred ground
1494
01:29:08,076 --> 01:29:12,747
that we find ourselves on,
1495
01:29:12,847 --> 01:29:15,416
this crime scene
that we find ourselves on
1496
01:29:15,516 --> 01:29:19,854
is not gonna speak,
doesn't have the ears to hear.
1497
01:29:21,856 --> 01:29:29,330
♪♪
1498
01:29:29,397 --> 01:29:33,000
- Kavin Ross talks about
the redbirds.
1499
01:29:33,067 --> 01:29:37,438
He says that they are
the spirits of our ancestors.
1500
01:29:37,538 --> 01:29:43,111
Monday morning,
I went out to my garden,
1501
01:29:43,211 --> 01:29:46,547
and as I stepped
on my back porch,
1502
01:29:46,614 --> 01:29:52,019
I saw a whole bunch of redbirds,
and they were looking at me.
1503
01:29:55,690 --> 01:29:57,792
And I ran in here
to get my phone,
1504
01:29:57,892 --> 01:29:59,761
"Kavin, I gotta tell you
the story of what happened
1505
01:29:59,861 --> 01:30:00,762
"with the redbirds."
1506
01:30:00,862 --> 01:30:04,098
He said, "Girly, come"--
he says girly.
1507
01:30:04,198 --> 01:30:07,535
"Girly, come get your butt
down here to the cemetery."
1508
01:30:12,740 --> 01:30:17,779
Well, I knew something huge
is gonna happen from that,
1509
01:30:17,879 --> 01:30:19,614
and it did.
1510
01:30:21,249 --> 01:30:31,392
♪♪
1511
01:30:31,459 --> 01:30:34,929
- I'm here
to report an update.
1512
01:30:34,996 --> 01:30:37,465
I can confirm that
we have identified, um,
1513
01:30:37,565 --> 01:30:39,167
a large hole that
had been excavated
1514
01:30:39,267 --> 01:30:42,003
and into which
several individuals,
1515
01:30:42,103 --> 01:30:45,106
um, have been placed.
1516
01:30:45,173 --> 01:30:47,575
This constitutes
a mass grave.
1517
01:30:51,279 --> 01:30:52,947
- Tonight scientists
believe they have found
1518
01:30:53,014 --> 01:30:56,484
evidence of a mass grave
in Oklahoma.
1519
01:30:56,584 --> 01:30:58,519
- More than a year
after work had started
1520
01:30:58,619 --> 01:31:03,691
at Oaklawn Cemetery,
the team found human remains.
1521
01:31:03,791 --> 01:31:07,862
- Today is a significant moment
in the history of our city
1522
01:31:07,962 --> 01:31:12,533
in trying to do right
by the victims of this event.
1523
01:31:12,633 --> 01:31:15,970
- When I heard that
they found twelve bodies,
1524
01:31:16,037 --> 01:31:19,607
I said, "Finally! Finally!"
1525
01:31:19,674 --> 01:31:23,945
It's no longer folklore,
it's no longer a rumor,
1526
01:31:24,011 --> 01:31:27,281
it's true.
1527
01:31:27,348 --> 01:31:28,516
And that's going
just to be
1528
01:31:28,616 --> 01:31:31,018
the beginning of justice.
1529
01:31:32,220 --> 01:31:34,355
- People in this community
who've been saying
1530
01:31:34,455 --> 01:31:36,657
that bodies were dumped
in mass graves,
1531
01:31:36,724 --> 01:31:39,627
their stories
have now been vindicated.
1532
01:31:39,694 --> 01:31:42,830
Gets us one step closer
to giving their families
1533
01:31:42,897 --> 01:31:48,836
the opportunities
to have the truth be known
1534
01:31:48,903 --> 01:31:51,706
and actually give them
a proper burial.
1535
01:31:59,347 --> 01:32:01,816
- This is all part of
a-a mission
1536
01:32:01,883 --> 01:32:05,386
to get back what was lost.
1537
01:32:05,486 --> 01:32:07,755
We've lost a lot of history,
we've lost a lot of testimony,
1538
01:32:07,855 --> 01:32:09,824
we've lost a lot
of known heritage
1539
01:32:09,891 --> 01:32:11,759
that could have been
passed down
1540
01:32:11,859 --> 01:32:14,428
because it wasn't safe
to talk about for so long.
1541
01:32:18,032 --> 01:32:21,068
- Nobody said
nothing until now.
1542
01:32:21,168 --> 01:32:22,837
We're just now
talking about it.
1543
01:32:25,072 --> 01:32:27,909
- Growing up,
old folks have talked,
1544
01:32:28,009 --> 01:32:31,679
and they actually kind of hid
a lot of stuff from us.
1545
01:32:33,915 --> 01:32:36,117
- Staying quiet was
one of those ways
1546
01:32:36,217 --> 01:32:38,052
of protecting yourself.
1547
01:32:38,119 --> 01:32:39,287
It's kind of in
the back of your mind,
1548
01:32:39,387 --> 01:32:41,455
wondering
could this happen again?
1549
01:32:41,556 --> 01:32:44,191
What can I do to prevent this
from happening again
1550
01:32:44,258 --> 01:32:46,093
for my children?
1551
01:33:11,886 --> 01:33:13,955
- That is another part
of trauma,
1552
01:33:14,055 --> 01:33:15,957
the silence that it creates.
1553
01:33:16,057 --> 01:33:17,391
And while people
were murdered
1554
01:33:17,458 --> 01:33:20,828
and we need to acknowledge that
and we need to find them,
1555
01:33:20,928 --> 01:33:22,763
we also need to talk about
how they lived.
1556
01:33:22,830 --> 01:33:25,266
We need to talk about
what they built,
1557
01:33:25,333 --> 01:33:26,434
we need to talk
about what's left behind
1558
01:33:26,500 --> 01:33:27,602
and tell that story,
1559
01:33:27,668 --> 01:33:30,605
because that story
lasts for a hundred years,
1560
01:33:30,671 --> 01:33:34,942
the massacre was two days.
1561
01:33:37,011 --> 01:33:39,246
- Hut, hut.
Come on, boy.
1562
01:33:39,313 --> 01:33:43,117
Hut, hut, hut.
1563
01:33:50,191 --> 01:33:52,159
Hut.
1564
01:33:53,361 --> 01:33:56,831
People say,
"Why don't you leave here?"
1565
01:33:56,931 --> 01:33:58,833
Because the memory
of something
1566
01:33:58,933 --> 01:34:01,702
that I will never see
anywhere else is still here.
1567
01:34:03,838 --> 01:34:07,341
And these pages contain
all of the photographs
1568
01:34:07,441 --> 01:34:10,778
of my ancestors
who lived on Greenwood.
1569
01:34:12,847 --> 01:34:17,018
The memory,
we're connected to our memories.
1570
01:34:17,785 --> 01:34:20,655
Olivia Hooker,
who was a survivor,
1571
01:34:20,721 --> 01:34:23,791
was a really beautiful soul.
1572
01:34:26,794 --> 01:34:30,231
- At that night
of the massacre, Olivia Hooker,
1573
01:34:30,331 --> 01:34:34,735
who was a six-year-old girl,
saw her own home ripped apart.
1574
01:34:34,835 --> 01:34:37,171
White folks
came into her house,
1575
01:34:37,238 --> 01:34:41,142
destroyed her piano
with a hatchet,
1576
01:34:41,208 --> 01:34:44,979
and when they left,
she went over there
1577
01:34:45,046 --> 01:34:49,717
and they struck the keyboard,
and there was still sound
1578
01:34:49,817 --> 01:34:52,920
coming out of that piano.
1579
01:34:53,020 --> 01:34:55,389
That's who Greenwood is.
1580
01:34:57,925 --> 01:34:59,860
You might destroy
the outside of me,
1581
01:34:59,927 --> 01:35:02,396
you might shoot me,
you might burn me,
1582
01:35:02,496 --> 01:35:05,700
you're not gonna
destroy my soul.
1583
01:35:05,766 --> 01:35:07,768
We still got a song to sing.
1584
01:35:09,203 --> 01:35:13,174
♪♪
1585
01:35:13,240 --> 01:35:17,078
- We have these cycles
of Greenwood being built,
1586
01:35:17,178 --> 01:35:20,047
destroyed, rebuilt.
1587
01:35:20,114 --> 01:35:21,282
If you look at it
all together
1588
01:35:21,382 --> 01:35:22,950
in a 100 year journey...
1589
01:35:27,221 --> 01:35:29,123
it's a consistent
story of resilience.
1590
01:35:31,792 --> 01:35:35,362
- We are so close
to getting over this madness.
1591
01:35:35,429 --> 01:35:39,734
In time, we can go on
to be a great city
1592
01:35:39,800 --> 01:35:42,369
that we are destined to be.
1593
01:35:43,571 --> 01:35:48,943
- There's a resilience
that our people have.
1594
01:35:49,043 --> 01:35:55,049
The people here in Tulsa
have kept the story alive.
1595
01:35:57,752 --> 01:36:02,423
We know with our people,
it's never the end.
1596
01:36:02,490 --> 01:36:21,175
♪♪
1597
01:36:21,275 --> 01:36:26,747
- My dreams of
what Greenwood should look like,
1598
01:36:26,814 --> 01:36:29,917
it should look like us.
1599
01:36:29,984 --> 01:36:33,320
- My hope for Greenwood
is that she can become
1600
01:36:33,420 --> 01:36:34,622
back what she used to be.
1601
01:36:35,623 --> 01:36:37,358
- I wish Greenwood
would be healed.
1602
01:36:37,858 --> 01:36:39,960
A lot of stuff
was buried deep.
1603
01:36:40,027 --> 01:36:40,194
- My dream is to have
a replicate
1604
01:36:42,863 --> 01:36:44,799
of what we had in 1921
1605
01:36:44,865 --> 01:36:47,201
with all
the Black businesses,
1606
01:36:47,301 --> 01:36:48,035
everybody supporting each other.
1607
01:36:50,337 --> 01:36:54,341
- We are the youngest
business owners on Greenwood.
1608
01:36:54,441 --> 01:36:56,811
I would like to see
young people, you know,
1609
01:36:56,877 --> 01:36:58,979
rebuilding
Black Wall Street.
1610
01:36:59,046 --> 01:37:01,282
- Let there be
some type of closure
1611
01:37:01,348 --> 01:37:04,718
and some type of life back here
that we're enjoying.
1612
01:37:04,819 --> 01:37:07,054
- We need to reclaim
what was ours
1613
01:37:07,154 --> 01:37:09,023
from the beginning.
1614
01:37:09,123 --> 01:37:11,325
Our people built
Black Wall Street
1615
01:37:11,392 --> 01:37:13,194
by hard work and dedication,
1616
01:37:13,294 --> 01:37:15,796
we did it one time,
we can do it again.
1617
01:37:15,863 --> 01:37:18,032
- Greenwood can be that again,
1618
01:37:18,132 --> 01:37:20,734
we can be
all that we wanna be.
117615
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