1921 Tulsa Race Riot
In the major cities, African Americans lived in segregated neighborhoods. The Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa was such a neighborhood. It also served as the African American financial center.
On Monday, May 30, Dick Rowland, a nineteen-year-old shoeshine boy, was on his way to the black-only restroom on the top floor of the Drexel Building. He tripped walking into the elevator and grabbed the arm of Sarah Page, the elevator operator, to keep from falling. She was surprised and let out a scream. This startled Dick, and he ran out of the building.
A clothing store clerk heard the scream and saw Dick run out of the building. She called police, who, in turn questioned Sarah. The police concluded that Dick’s actions were accidental, not an assault. Meanwhile, Dick sought refuge in his mother’s house in the Greenwood district overnight.
On Tuesday, police located Rowland and took him into protective custody in the Tulsa County Courthouse. The Tulsa Tribune heard about the arrest. The headline of the afternoon edition read, “Police Nab Negro for Attacking Girl in Elevator.” Crowds of African Americans gathered at the Courthouse to assist the sheriff’s deputies. This only served to attract even larger crowds of whites.
As afternoon turned into evening, the crowds armed themselves. A contingent of armed African American World War I veterans gathered at the Courthouse to defend Rowland.
Around 10 p.m. a white man confronted one of the veterans. A scuffle took place, and a gun went off. The fight soon moved into the Greenwood neighborhood. By the time the National Guard arrived at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, 35 blocks of the Greenwood neighborhood had been destroyed. There were 39 confirmed dead (twenty-six African American, thirteen white); 800 were injured. Later reports put the number killed as high as 300.
Nobody was ever charged with an offense associated with the riot. Dick Rowland was released from custody in September without being charged.
Information provided by Jason Harris, Curator of Education
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