Tulsa Race Massacre

May 31, 1921

The Tulsa Race Massacre occurred on May 31 – June 1, 1921, when mobs of white people attacked and destroyed the Greenwood residential and business district, a prospering black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Massacre occurred when a black man was accused of assaulting a white woman in a downtown elevator. The Tulsa Race Massacre is considered the worst example of racial violence in American history.

For more information about the Tulsa Race Massacre including archival materials, research and further reading, please visit these resources:

• Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture

• Greenwood Cultural Center

• Tulsa Historical Society and Museum

• Greenwood Rising

• Oklahoma State Archives

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Photo Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Online Catalog, Call Number LOT 13095, no. 4.