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The Tulsa Race Massacre: Unearthing the 'oldest and largest crime scene in America'

It's been 100 years since white residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma laid waste to a thriving Black community, the Greenwood District, also known as Black Wall Street.
Troy Frisby
Digital Content Producer
The Tulsa Race Massacre: Unearthing the 'oldest and largest crime scene in America'

It's been 100 years since white residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma laid waste to a thriving Black community, the Greenwood District, also known as Black Wall Street.

I say all the time. Greenwood is the oldest and largest crime scene in America. It only took 18 hours for a thriving bustling black community to be reduced to ashes. People were killed over four miles or 36 square city blocks destroyed, businesses destroyed, homes destroyed. When we talk about Black Wall Street, that's the point of pride. There is that it was the epicenter of black wealth in this part of America, a group of people that were jealous that were angry, that looked over at this other community that was very well off that was doing well and said we need to get rid of that. We can't have that stand. They can't be doing better than we are and we got to do something about that. They tried to hide it, covered up and make it like it never wash. But it was the worst part of the hand. Hundreds of people died thrown into a mass grave, their property destroyed and nobody has ever been held accountable for it. This is not just a Tulsa exclusive conversation. People in Washington state, people in florida, people in Maine should know about the Tulsa race massacre. I don't know.
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The Tulsa Race Massacre: Unearthing the 'oldest and largest crime scene in America'

It's been 100 years since white residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma laid waste to a thriving Black community, the Greenwood District, also known as Black Wall Street.
Troy Frisby
Digital Content Producer
Over the course of 18 hours, starting on May 31, 1921, white residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma laid waste to a thriving African American community in the city: the Greenwood District, also known as "Black Wall Street."In the early ‘20s, Greenwood was flourishing. "Greenwood was more than a street," historian Dewayne Dickens said. "Greenwood was a dream… that represented something for the whole nation." But not everyone was pleased with the district’s success.In 2021, we aired a documentary on the Tulsa Race Massacre. Watch the story below."Because of that prosperity that was happening in the community, that also becomes a tension of jealousy," Dickens said.The spark that ignited the massacre was an incident with a shoe shiner named Dick Rowland. He is believed to have stumbled getting into an elevator in Tulsa's Drexel building and grabbed the hand of the white elevator operator, Sarah Page.But Rowland was accused of attacking Page and was arrested. "We see a Black mob thinking that Dick Rowland is going to be lynched instead of seeing his day in court," said Dexter Nelson, of the Oklahoma Historical Society. "Then we see a white mob come to meet that Black mob. There was a shot that was fired and then the massacre broke out."While the earliest recorded death toll was 36, historians now believe that hundreds of people were killed.Not only that, but as former KOCO reporter Jason Hackett noted, "The government didn't come in and try to help out or rebuild. Things were burned down and left in ashes."The stories of Tulsans who survived were passed down through families for decades. But publicly, the true magnitude of what happened was kept quiet or even denied.A century later, the tragedy, which had long been labeled a race riot, has been officially recognized as the Tulsa Race Massacre.You can watch the full episode here.
TULSA, Okla. —

Over the course of 18 hours, starting on May 31, 1921, white residents of Tulsa, Oklahoma laid waste to a thriving African American community in the city: the Greenwood District, also known as "Black Wall Street."

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In the early ‘20s, Greenwood was flourishing.

"Greenwood was more than a street," historian Dewayne Dickens said. "Greenwood was a dream… that represented something for the whole nation."

But not everyone was pleased with the district’s success.

In 2021, we aired a documentary on the Tulsa Race Massacre. Watch the story below.

"Because of that prosperity that was happening in the community, that also becomes a tension of jealousy," Dickens said.

The spark that ignited the massacre was an incident with a shoe shiner named Dick Rowland. He is believed to have stumbled getting into an elevator in Tulsa's Drexel building and grabbed the hand of the white elevator operator, Sarah Page.

But Rowland was accused of attacking Page and was arrested.

"We see a Black mob thinking that Dick Rowland is going to be lynched instead of seeing his day in court," said Dexter Nelson, of the Oklahoma Historical Society. "Then we see a white mob come to meet that Black mob. There was a shot that was fired and then the massacre broke out."

While the earliest recorded death toll was 36, historians now believe that hundreds of people were killed.

Not only that, but as former KOCO reporter Jason Hackett noted, "The government didn't come in and try to help out or rebuild. Things were burned down and left in ashes."

The stories of Tulsans who survived were passed down through families for decades. But publicly, the true magnitude of what happened was kept quiet or even denied.

A century later, the tragedy, which had long been labeled a race riot, has been officially recognized as the Tulsa Race Massacre.

You can watch the full episode here.