Justice Department launches first federal review of 1921 Tulsa race massacre

Oct 2, 2024 Story by: Editor

The U.S. Department of Justice has initiated a review of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke announced. This tragic event occurred on May 31, 1921, when white attackers killed up to 300 Black residents in Tulsa’s thriving Greenwood neighborhood, often referred to as “Black Wall Street.”

In her statement on Monday, Clarke said the Department’s goal is to complete the review by the end of the year. “When we have finished our federal review, we will issue a report analyzing the massacre in light of both modern and then-existing civil rights law,” said Clarke, who leads the Justice Department’s civil rights enforcement efforts.

This investigation is being carried out under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, which permits the Justice Department to investigate civil rights crimes resulting in death that occurred before December 31, 1979. The massacre was triggered after a Black man was accused of assaulting a white woman.

The massacre not only resulted in the deaths of hundreds but also devastated more than 35 square blocks, destroying homes and businesses. Experts suggest the true cost of the destruction, which wiped out generational wealth for Black families in Tulsa, has been severely underestimated.

Today, only two survivors remain: Viola Fletcher and Lessie Benningfield Randle. Along with Hugh Van Ellis, who passed away a year ago at 102, they were part of a lawsuit seeking reparations for the massacre. In July, an Oklahoma judge dismissed their case.

“We have no expectation that there are living perpetrators who could be criminally prosecuted by us or by the state,” Clarke stated. “Although a commission, historians, lawyers, and others have conducted prior examinations of the Tulsa Massacre, we, the Justice Department, never have.”

Clarke noted that the department is reviewing available documents, witness accounts, scholarly work, and other information related to the event.

“We only know about 10% of what actually happened,” said Damario Solomon Simmons, an attorney representing the remaining survivors and descendants of the massacre, in an interview with NBC affiliate KJRH. “Who actually participated, those are things we don’t have the capacity as private attorneys to get. We hope the federal government can help fill in some of those gaps.” Source: NBC News