Reparations for Race Riots
Although the Tulsa Race Massacre happened over a century ago, its legacy still lives on in the memories of survivors and many families of victims. The Tulsa Race Massacre occurred in 1921 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, when a white mob destroyed property and killed hundreds of Black people. On May 2 of this year, an Oklahoma judge ruled that a lawsuit seeking reparations from the City of Tulsa could proceed. The reparations would include compensation for destruction of property and funding for survivors and families of victims of the massacre. The ongoing lawsuit calls for the creation of a Tulsa Massacre Victims Compensation Fund, as well as a hospital in Tulsa to make up for the one that was destroyed during the event (National Public Radio). The three plaintiffs in the case, who initiated the lawsuit in March 2021 with assistance from family members, are all over 100 years old. Viola Ford Fletcher, Lessie Benningfield Randle and Hughes Van Ellis were children when the massacre occurred, and they say they hope to finally receive justice for the wrongdoings done to their community (American Broadcasting Company).
Tulsa in the early 1900s was a highly prosperous but also highly segregated city (History). Most of the city’s Black residents resided in a neighborhood called Greenwood, which included a business district sometimes referred to as Black Wall Street. The massacre was triggered by the arrest of a young Black man named Dick Rowland on May 31, 1921, for the alleged assault of a white girl despite minimal evidence (National Broadcasting Company). This led to a group of white men planning to lynch Rowland, but a collection of Greenwood residents attempted to stop them in front of the courthouse. A fight broke out and the mob grew, with several white sheriffs and officers participating in the mob, until it was more than 2,000 people (NBC). The following day, the mob attacked residents and businesses in Greenwood; over the next 18 hours, hundreds of Black people were killed and thousands left homeless after their houses were burned (History). Though this is only one of many race-related riots from the time period, junior Mason Kramer thinks the Tulsa Race Massacre is significant because of how reparations were denied for so long despite it being one of the deadliest riots in history.
“[The Tulsa Race Massacre] was a prominent example of racial discrimination in the U.S. and showcased the results of segregation, [as well as] the divide between white and Black neighborhoods,” Kramer said. “The response that occurred showed that in the U.S. at the time, even though it was past the point of slavery, racial discrimination still persisted.”
Over a century after the Tulsa Race Massacre, the survivors and descendants of victims may be seeing justice with the ongoing lawsuit and through various donations being made toward the cause. The three survivors involved in the lawsuit received a $1 million donation together from the New York-based nonprofit Business for Good on May 18. The families of Fletcher, Randle and Ellis will use the money for the care and needs of the three survivors (ABC). Despite this donation, there has been an overall lack of government support regarding reparations for the massacre (Cable News Network). In recent years, as pointed out in the lawsuit, Tulsa had been promoting the Greenwood site as a tourist attraction, and the revenue raised had not been distributed to the community or victims (Huffpost). Junior William Sun thinks that it is important for reparations to instead be given out to those affected by the massacre.
“On one hand, creating a tourist attraction [out of a historical site] could increase awareness of the underlying issues of the event as well as help in remembrance of those who have died,” Sun said. “However, the action would do nothing to actually help the people and families that were directly involved with the event. It takes the focus away from the victims, [even though they are] who we should be prioritizing.”
While many people are happy about the survivors and descendants of victims finally getting closure, the situation has led many to question why it took so long for the survivors to obtain reparations, and whether it is too late. The Tulsa Race Massacre left its mark on Greenwood, where racial disparities persist today as a result of what happened a hundred years prior; Black residents in Tulsa are poorer and have higher rates of unemployment than those of white residents (Microsoft National Broadcasting Corporation). When people lost their homes and jobs in the massacre, their financial situation worsened, which negatively affected the generational wealth of families from Greenwood (ABC). Senior Keshav Sharma thinks that although the reparations are much too late, they still need to happen.
“I think reparations should have started earlier, but I am glad that the survivors now are still able to get some sort of justice,” Sharma said. “Hopefully, if a similar situation were to happen in the future, people will have learned from the Tulsa Race Massacre and reparations would be given sooner.”
