Tulsa Race Massacre - 1921

Though resources on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre can be found throughout the Tulsa City-County Library system, TCCL's African-American Resource Center (AARC) at Rudisill Regional Library, in particular, and the Research Center at Central Library house the greatest number of resources. This guide is intended to supplement the AARC Tulsa Race Massacre subject guide and to point to resources that may be found in the Research Center or are available from other reliable entities online. There may be some overlap between the two guides.

"The 1921 Attack on Greenwood was one of the most significant events in Tulsa’s history. Following World War I, Tulsa was recognized nationally for its affluent African American community known as the Greenwood District. This thriving business district and surrounding residential area was referred to as “Black Wall Street.” In June 1921, a series of events nearly destroyed the entire Greenwood area."

This is a digital primary source collection on the Tulsa Race Massacre.

This collection features documents and images from various Oklahoma state government agencies, such as the Governor’s office and the Attorney General’s office, regarding the investigation into the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. The collection includes eye-witness testimony, letters, telegrams, police reports, and court cases. Additionally, some documents relate to prostitution, gambling, and illegal alcohol in Tulsa during the early 1920s.

From May 31 to June 1, 1921, Greenwood, a black neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is destroyed by white mobs. This guide provides access to material related to the "Tulsa Race Massacre" in the Chronicling America digital collection of historic newspapers.

"There is no question or argument that on 31 May -1 June 1921, a race riot took place in Tulsa that ultimately 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."

This site is being developed by I. Marc Carlson, the Librarian of Special Collections at the McFarlin Library, The University of Tulsa. He is a historical researcher and a librarian. He has been researching the Tulsa Race Riot since 1989. The material on this site is either public domain or copyrighted to I. Marc Carlson. The Public Domain items will be identified as such.