I can't imagine a 107 year old woman testifying before Congress, yet it happened recently.
History is forgotten for many reasons. May 31, 1921 and the days after marked an event that many of us in the United States didn't even know about until recent years, because the horrific event was never taught in our history classes.
It wasn't taught to me as a schoolchild, even though I grew up during the Civil Rights era.
But it is known now, as this news feature on CBS yesterday morning describes.
Known as the Greenwood Massacre, or the Tulsa Race Massacre, a flourishing black area of Tulsa, Oklahoma called Greenwood, or "Black Wall Street" for its concentration of black-owned prospering businesses, was destroyed by angry white mobs storming through the streets. There were even rioters flying planes overhead, dropping kerosene bombs on those trying to flee. The 100th anniversary is upon us.
It was possibly the worst racial incident in United States history. The final death toll is still in dispute but it is possible it might be upwards of 300 innocent victims plus over 1,000 houses destroyed.
And even then, the survivors weren't safe, as they were rounded up, arrested, and held in internment camps for weeks.
As with other events of this type, the massacre was covered up. But a seven year old girl witnessed the horrors of this event, and still lives with the trauma every day as sunset approaches.
I knew a 107 year old woman. I blogged about her several times. She passed away a couple of months after turning 107. Until her last couple of years, she had a sharp memory. She was a living link to history.
100 years is a long time for a woman to wait to get her chance to bear public witness to history. But, in this era of increasing hate and violence, as we struggle with change caused by the pandemic, it is necessary for us to listen and learn. This wasn't the only "race massacre" in our history, either, just possibly the worst.
Even as our country has so much to be proud of in our history, we must also consider times that were far from our proudest moments. There's a saying that history does not repeat itself, but it rhymes.
Tulsa is finally confronting its past, and we can only hope some healing will come from this, and not more violence.
100 years is a long time.
There is - and always has been, I think - a concerted effort in this country to keep us from confronting the truth of our founding and of our past. Perhaps the tide is turning but it is too slow to see on most days.
ReplyDeleteNo, this wasn't something we learned in school. In California we busy building missions of sugar cubes and reading about how happy the Indians were with their mission lives. It was probably within the past year I heard about the Tulsa massacre. A horrid, horrid part of history. Unfortunately, hatred has become more acceptable in the past few years.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing this with us today, so sad.
ReplyDeleteI saw some of the testimony. Wish I could say I was shocked. 100 years and the memories are still clear.
ReplyDelete...people knowledge of the Tulsa Massacre is what happens when whites men write history and they are trying again with January 6, 2021!
ReplyDeleteShe has poweful story to tell, I hope it does some good. Also I hope our blogs might a learning tool for improvement in our society.
ReplyDeleteCoffee is on and stay safe
The first I heard of this was from the first scene of the show Watchmen on HBO. Shocking. But then again, I shouldn't be shocked, nor should I be shocked that it was not talked about for a century.
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