Let me just start by saying here that there is no doubt that on 31 May -1 June 1921, a race riot took place in Tulsa that left an unknown number of people dead, and many more than even the highest estimates of those killed homeless, humiliated and horribly in debt. That these people in the next decade, during one of the worst periods of racism against them, overcame all that and succeeded in rebuilding is amazing. These are people, living and dead, are people to be honored and recognized.
It is also accepted that this is an extremely emotional topic for many people, and that many aspects of this can't help but evoke an angry response. This is particularly so when faced with time honored beliefs about events, and having those questioned, and more so when it seems like the "revision" of what you've been taught seems to be stripping you of your history. I will get into a broader discussion of this under Methodology, however, let me just say that while I truly believe that most people who reported events, did so in good faith attempts to convey things as they understood them,and I will try to honor those attempts. However, my ultimate goal is to look for the verifiable version of what happened, period. If we can look at the verifiable events and agree on them, we can slowly start to look at the other, less verifiable, events as related, and put them in their proper context.
The contents of this Website consist of a paper written over a decade ago, and an ongoing look at research I am currently engaged in. My purpose for doing this is that I am interested in the topic and truly want to see the Truth, or at least, the most plausible version of events.
Finally, you will notice that there are a minimal number of photos on this site, even though you will see in other sites copies of many of the pictures taken. I do have copies of most of the photos, but I don't have the legal right to scan them in, or to display them here. Which is really too bad, since some of the things I have to say are based on those photographs. The issues of copyright are further discussed under copyright.
The Original Document:
My Later Research:
This page was last updated 22 August 2001
The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 by I. Marc Carlson. Copyright 2000, 2001 © I. Marc Carlson.