“What is the story that nobody wants to hear?” asked Dr. Anthony Marshall, a high school history teacher who was part of the 10 person delegation from Tulsa, OK, that attended the Just Governance conference at Caux, Switzerland, this summer. “Tell the whole story, tell the truth. We must educate about atrocities. If it doesn’t challenge you it won’t change you.” But he added, “Be prepared to be ostracized and criticized.”

This group of city leaders and historians was led by John Franklin, Senior Manager, Office of External Affairs at the soon to be opened National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC. They came to Caux to tell the story of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, or pogrom as some prefer to call it. Often referred to as a “riot” it was in fact the white citizens who destroyed the thriving black community. The white economic and political power structures felt threatened by the success of this area known as the “Black Wall Street.” By naming it a “riot” insurance companies did not have to compensate property owners. In the wake of the violence, 35 city blocks lay in charred ruins, over 800 people were treated for injuries and it is now believed that close to 300 people died.

Franklin said that the Tulsa Massacre is one of the stories that will be told in the new National Museum. Many of those who came to Caux helped him to gather the documents, artifacts and oral history needed to tell the story. “This is a story of resilience that must be shared with the world,“ said John’s wife Karen. The families of several of the delegation, including Dr. Jan Christopher of the Williams family that owned the Dreamland Theater, had been personally impacted by the event, losing property and businesses.

Susan Savage, a former mayor of Tulsa, is the third generation of her family to live in the city. She grew up never knowing this story. A short paragraph in a history book in Junior High School referencing the Tulsa Race Riot prompted her to start asking questions. She was told it was not important. Clearly it was not important to white families who had not been impacted by the violence except perhaps inconvenienced by disruption in the schedule of their domestic help. She has learned the truth late in life. Does she feel guilty? “No, but it has instilled in me a great sense of responsibility to mend our community’s race relation.” She has made it her mission to talk about the neglect of the poor, the marginalized, and people of color in a deliberate way. “Oklahoma has not invested in education and healthcare.” She now serves as senior director of the Morton Comprehensive Health Services that was established after the riots and which for many years was the only place that African Americans could receive medical care. “The only way to heal from 1921 is to have a relentless moral effort that keeps us focused on the lives of those affected by this tragedy. If we are not active in solutions we are complicit in keeping things as they are.” (Photo: Susan Savage and John Franklin)

Others who spoke at the workshop, both black and white, echoed the fact that growing up they knew nothing of this story of Tulsa. Michelle Place, Director of the Tulsa Historical Society, has worked tirelessly to research the story, make sure it is told and is easy to access by the community and the world beyond. The story of Tulsa cannot remain “the rich white oil man’s story,” she says. Alicia Latimer, the Minority Resource Center Coordinator at Tulsa City-County Library, talked about the hesitation of teachers to talk with their students even though in 2013 the State Board of Education mandated that the race massacre be taught. So with the support of the YWCA and the John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation she has created a teaching kit, appropriate for different ages, that includes books, videos and lesson plans that allow the victims to tell their own stories.  

The final word went to Byron Crenshaw, a young jazz musician, who urged us to learn from the past. “This story becomes more and more relevant each day with the incidents of police brutality and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.”

The Tulsa story was further dramatized by Vanessa Adams Harris who performed a one-woman play “Big Mama Speaks” giving voice to those who survived the race massacre. (Photo: "Big Mama Speaks")