103 Years After the Tulsa Race Massacre

The First Time Terrorists Bombed Americans Wasn't on 9/11 or Pearl Harbor

Did you know that the first time terrorists used planes to attack Americans wasn’t on 9/11 or at Pearl Harbor? It was during the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 when white supremacists flew “a dozen planes to drop turpentine or nitroglycerin bombs & men shot from planes.”

I’ve written on the Tulsa Race Massacre before, but it merits ongoing education and dialogue. May 31 and June 1 marked the 103-year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. It’s a massacre that stands as one of the most horrific acts of racial violence in American history, and also one of the most underreported and underrecognized.

Now 103 years later, the Tulsa Race Massacre has resulted in zero consequences for the culprits who ignited the massacre. Sadly, this lack of accountability for racial violence has been the norm for the entirety of American history. It is no wonder that today, every intelligence agency points to white supremacy terrorism as the greatest threat to American national security today.

Hughes Van Ellis, 102 (late), Lessie Benningfield Randle, 109, and Viola Fletcher, 110. Ms. Randle and Ms. Fletcher are the oldest living survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre.

Indeed, it is truly a contemporary disgrace that in June of 2023, an Oklahoma judge dismissed with prejudice a lawsuit seeking accountability for the Tulsa Race Massacre.

What Happened That Day?

The Tulsa Massacre murdered as many as 300 Black people, destroyed 35 Black owned city blocks, hospitalized 800 Black people, interned 8,000 Black people in homeless shelters, and displaced more than 10,000 Black people. Yet, not a single culprit was brought to justice, no reparations were ever paid, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court horrifyingly rejected all civil suits and protected all insurance companies from having to pay out claims. Viola Fletcher, one of the last surviving members of the massacre, recently testified before Congress.

“I will never forget the violence of the white mob when we left our home,” Fletcher said. “[I] still see Black men being shot, Black bodies lying in the street. [I] still smell smoke and see fire. I still see Black businesses being burned. [I] still hear airplanes flying overhead, I hear the screams. [I] have lived through the massacre every day. Our country may forget this history, but I cannot.”

Smoke billows over Tulsa, Oklahoma during the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921. Credit: Alvin C. Krupnick Co./Library of Congress via AP.

Malcolm X famously remarked, “If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.” After the massacre, local and national media did exactly that by immediately whitewashing the attack. Despite the estimated 300 Black Americans killed, the Tulsa World led with “Two Whites Dead in Race Riot” and “Many More Whites Are Shot,”— completely erasing the mass destruction of Black people and Black livelihoods.

Likewise, in an early version of “All Lives Matter,” The Los Angeles Express and The San Diego Union ran headlines completely erasing the targeted attacks on Black Americans—instead only speaking about the estimated number of those killed.

Not to be outdone, the New York Times made it seem like an equal number of white and Black Americans were killed in the massacre—when in reality fewer than 10 white Americans died. And today, in an ongoing reminder of the injustices committed during this massacre, the GOP insists on whitewashing this history and censoring study of atrocities like the Tulsa Race Massacre.

The Bottom Line

Here’s the bottom line. America cannot fulfill its founding promise of equal justice for all without meaningful accountability for those who violate that equal justice. Acknowledgement, reparations for the victims and their families, and an apology for Tulsa are a step towards justice. To date, America has delivered none of the above.

True reform will require a complete reimagining of public safety to counter the systemic violence against BIPOC communities. We cannot afford another century of apathy. If we are sincere about accountability for historical atrocities like the Tulsa Race Massacre, we must also be committed to meaningfully curb the tide of systemic racist violence, end white supremacy, and build a more perfect union that truly offers equal justice for all.

In closing, think about this. Ms. Viola Fletcher was born only 1 year after Harriett Tubman died, who herself was four years old when Thomas Jefferson died. That is how stark today’s connection is to the founding of this country. This isn't ancient history. This is contemporary reality. And that is why it is all the more critical we act quickly to ensure justice for Tulsa and the dozens of other anti-Black massacres that have gone unpunished throughout American history.