Knowra Tulsa Race Massacre Tulsa Race Massacre A two-day attack in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 1921, in which white mobs destroyed Greenwood, a prosperous Black neighborhood, killing residents and displacing thousands.
Greenwood District : A prosperous Black neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, known for its businesses, homes, and cultural institutions. The attack centered on Greenwood, whose buildings and residents were targeted.
Jim Crow laws : State and local laws that enforced racial segregation and Black disenfranchisement in the United States. Segregation shaped the unequal conditions under which Greenwood residents lived and sought protection.
Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 : A state commission established in 1997 to investigate the 1921 Tulsa violence and recommend responses. Its 2001 report documented the attack and proposed reparations and other forms of redress.
Mount Zion Baptist Church : A historic Black church in Greenwood that was destroyed during the 1921 attack and later rebuilt. Its destruction and reconstruction show the assault on Greenwood’s religious institutions.
Dick Rowland : A Black teenager whose arrest after an encounter with a white elevator operator helped trigger the 1921 violence. Newspaper coverage of Rowland’s arrest inflamed tensions before the attack.
Racial violence in the United States : Violence directed at people or communities because of race, often supported or tolerated by authorities. The massacre belongs to a broader history of anti-Black violence and impunity.
Tulsa Race Massacre Commission Report : The 2001 report documenting the 1921 attack, its aftermath, and recommendations for reparations. The report assembled evidence about deaths, property destruction, and public responsibility.
Dreamland Theatre : A Black-owned theater in Greenwood that was destroyed during the 1921 attack. Its loss illustrates the destruction of Greenwood’s cultural and commercial life.
Sarah Page : A white elevator operator involved in the May 1921 incident that led to Dick Rowland’s arrest. Her encounter with Rowland became the disputed accusation used to mobilize a white mob.
Black Wall Street : A popular name for Greenwood, Tulsa’s thriving Black business district before its destruction in 1921. The district’s prosperity shaped both its historical significance and the scale of losses.
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