WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Dept. of Justice has reported the results of an investigation of the Tulsa Race Massacre, noting that even though the century-old incident was a violation of civil rights laws, it cannot prosecute now because of the expiration of the statute of limitations.
DOJ Civil Right Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clark charged, “The Tulsa Race Massacre stands out as a civil rights crime unique in its magnitude, barbarity, racist hostility and its utter annihilation of a thriving Black community.”
Before now, Clark added, “the Justice Department had not made any public comments on the horrific actions such as theft, arson, and the displacement of survivors into internment camps (that) white Tulsans, in 1921, committed against Black residents of Greenwood.”
“This report shines light by disclosing a full account, of one of the darkest episodes of our nation’s past,” according to the DOJ in its 123-page report that revealed “the massacre was the result not of controlled mob violence, but of a coordinated, military-style attack on Greenwood.”
Still, over 100 years since the event, “there is no living perpetrator for the Justice Department to prosecute” according to the DOJ, adding the report showcases the “commitment to the pursuit of justice and truth” and stands in solidarity with impacted individuals, advocates, as well as courageous survivors.
The report, added DOJ, documents the true gravity of what occurred between May 31 and June 1, 1921, “when white Tulsans mounted a concerted effort to destroy a vibrant Black community,” known as Black Wall Street(DOJ).
During this massacre, Black businesses and homes were set aflame, hundreds of residents were murdered, and many had their belongings and money stolen, leaving survivors “left without resources or recourse,” said DOJ.
The court found that the City of Tulsa “failed to provide necessary aid or assistance,” declined mutual aid for victims and “efforts to seek justice through the courts,” explained DOJ.
Since “the relevant statute of limitations expired decades ago,” and no living perpetrator exists, there is “no avenue of prosecution now,” noted DOJ, adding, however, the report officially highlights and acknowledges the “horrible ordeals of the massacre’s victims.”
A team of the Emmett Till Cold Case Unit investigators and lawyers conducted this report through listening to survivor and descendants of survivors testimonies, reviewed primary source materials articles, legal pleadings, and interviewed scholars of the massacre.
The report found that “systematic and coordinated” attacks by over 10,000 white Tulsans “transcended mere mob violence,” reported DOJ, adding the Tulsa Race Massacre was triggered by a common strategy by white supremacists, who justified violence against Black men.
The report cited Dick Rowland, a 19-year-old Black man who was accused of sexual assault by a white man. Following his arrest, the local newspaper “sensationalized the story” prompting a “mob of white Tulsans” to demand lynching outside the courthouse.
The local sheriff made the courthouse a refugee for Black men to prevent lynching, the report maintains, but the white mob saw this as “an unacceptable challenge to the social order.” The mob expanded and a confrontation occurred.
Many white residents who were “drinking and agitating for Rowland’s murder” joined the law enforcement and organized special duties to “ravage the Greenwood community,” said DOJ’s report.
While the violence began as opportunistic and sporadic, by June 1, added DOJ, the arsons and violence had become systematic, organized and efficient, as 35 city blocks, with the aid of law enforcement, were burned, destroyed and looted leaving many Black families to flee for their lives with nothing. Women, children and elderly were not spared from being taken into custody.
Law enforcement detained Black residents in “makeshift camps under armed guard” and even participated in the “murder, arson and looting,” said DOJ, and, despite the city officials vowing to rebuild Greenwood, the Tulsa government did the exact opposite and “put up obstacles to residential reconstruction.”
The DOJ writes white local leaders went so far as rejecting outside aid under the guise that they could “handle the recovery” yet they “provided little to no financial support,” and created fire codes that increased rent and forced Black residents out of Greenwood.
Although there were fewer legal avenues in 1921 than today in civil rights laws, there were still “avenues for federal prosecution that were available” and not pursued, admitted DOJ.
