BleuHistory Vol. 9: Wealth, Land, and Documented Destruction

This volume documents: Documented Black wealth creation and documented destruction — Black Wall Street (Greenwood, Tulsa, 1921): approximately 300 killed, 10,000 Black Oklahomans left homeless, $2.5 million in property destroyed, the most prosperous Black business district in American history burned to the ground. Also documented: the GI Bill (1944) and its documented exclusion of Black veterans; and eminent domain used against Black communities to build highways.

Background context: Greenwood was a self-sufficient Black economic district in Tulsa, Oklahoma — called "Black Wall Street" by Booker T. Washington. It had its own banks, hotels, theaters, law offices, and medical practices. On May 31–June 1, 1921, a white mob — assisted by Tulsa city government and the Oklahoma National Guard — burned it to the ground. No one was convicted. No reparations were paid. The Oklahoma state commission to study the massacre was not convened until 1997 — 76 years later. Its final report was released in 2001.

The Document Says

Tulsa Race Massacre Commission Report, 2001

Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. Available at the Oklahoma Historical Society (okhistory.org).

"The events of May 31 and June 1, 1921 resulted in the Greenwood District being burned to the ground. As many as 300 people were killed. Approximately 10,000 Black Oklahomans were left homeless... Private property losses ranged from $1.5 million to $2.5 million... The Greenwood District was, to that point, the most prosperous Black business district in the United States."

The Four Questions: (1) Who wrote it? (2) When? (3) What does it say? (4) Why does it matter? Use specific words from the document in every answer.

Q1 — Who created this report?
A state commission, 80 years after the massacre. What does the 80-year delay tell you about who controlled the documented historical record during that time? What does it take for a state to acknowledge documented atrocity?

Q2 — When does it describe?
May–June 1921, during the "Red Summer" of documented anti-Black violence. What made Greenwood a target? What did the success of Black Wall Street threaten?

Q3 — What does it say?
300 deaths, 10,000 homeless, $2.5 million lost. What does "the most prosperous Black business district in the United States" document about what was destroyed — and why? What does "burned to the ground" mean as a documented economic event?

Q4 — Why does it matter?
No documented reparations were paid. The last three documented survivors testified before Congress in 2021 — 100 years later. What does the documented gap between destruction and response document about accountability? What is the connection between documented destruction of Black wealth and documented wealth disparities today?

Write one paragraph: Make a claim about the documented relationship between Black wealth destruction and the racial wealth gap. Cite the Tulsa Race Massacre Commission Report as evidence. Explain the connection (warrant).

What does this primary source document that a textbook's description of the same event would not?

Access the Oklahoma Historical Society (okhistory.org). Find the full Tulsa Race Massacre Commission Report. Read the section on "Government Complicity." Write one sentence from it here and apply Question 3: