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>> Simon: TONIGHT WE'RE GOING TO
REPORT A STORY THAT'S ALMOST 80
YEARS OLD.
BUT IT WILL COME AS NEWS TO MOST
AMERICANS AS, FRANKLY, IT DID TO
US.
THIS COUNTRY'S MOST VIOLENT RACE
RIOT DIDN'T HAPPEN IN NEWARK OR
WATTS OR DETROIT.
IT HAPPENED IN TULSA, OKLAHOMA,
IN JUNE OF 1921.
FOR DECADES CITY OFFICIALS
COVERED IT UP.
THE HISTORY BOOKS BARELY
MENTIONED IT.
AND PEOPLE, WHITE PEOPLE THAT
IS, HARDLY EVER TALKED ABOUT IT.
BUT ALL THAT'S CHANGING NOW.
A STATE COMMISSION HAS BEGUN
INVESTIGATING THE RIOT AND IS
ALREADY RAISING TOUGH QUESTIONS
ABOUT WHAT TODAY'S CITIZENS OWE
YESTERDAY'S VICTIMS.
AND IT'S REVIVED MEMORIES FOR
GEORGE MONROE OF A NIGHT 78
YEARS AGO, WHEN HIS MOTHER SAW
FOUR WHITE MEN WALKING UP TO
THEIR HOUSE, CARRYING TORCHES.
>> OUR MOTHER TOLD US TO GET UP
UNDER THE BED, AND WE GET UP
UNDER THE BED.
WE COULD SEE JUST THEIR FEET.
THEY CAME IN AND SET FIRE TO THE
CURTAINS, AND ONE STEPPED ON MY
FINGERS, AND MY SISTER PUT HER
HAND OVER MY MOUTH TO BE SURE TO
STOP ME, BECAUSE SHE COULD TELL
I WAS FIXING TO HOLLER CAUSE IT
HURT.
>> Simon: MONROE ESCAPED WITH
SOME SORE FINGERS.
HIS HOME AND THE REST OF
GREENWOOD WAS BURNING.
BEFORE THE RIOT, 0,000 BLACKS
LIVED IN GREENWOOD, DID BUSINESS
THERE, PROSPERED THERE.
IN FACT, ONE OF THE MOST VIBRANT
BLACK COMMUNITIES IN THE UNITED
STATES.
CHILDREN QUICKLY LIVED THAT
THEY LIVED IN A DIFFERENT WORLD
FROM WHITES.
>> THE TRACK WAS A DIVIDING
LINE.
NOW, EVERY SUNDAY, WE WOULD
CLIMB ON TOP OF THE COAL CAR
AND THROW ENOUGH COAL ON THE
SIDE, ON OUR SIDE, AND I GUESS
THEY DID THE SAME THING, BUT
EVERY SUNDAY WE HAD A GOOD COAL
FIGHT.
WE WOULD THROW AT THEM, AND
THEY WOULD THROW AT US.
>> LIKE A KIDS LITTLE RIOT?
>> THAT'S A GOOD DESCRIPTION OF
IT, A KIDS RIOT.
THAT'S RIGHT.
>> THE KIDS, OF COURSE, LEARNED
FROM THE ADULTS.
>> THERE WAS TOTAL SEGREGATION,
WASN'T TH
>> Don Ross: AH, THAT WAS THE
WONDER OF IT ALL.
WELL, AFTER OKLAHOMA BECAME A
STATE, THE FIRST LAW PASSED BY
THE OKLAHOMA STATE LEGISLATURE
WAS SENATE BILL ONE, WHICH
COMPLETELY SEGREGATED THE STATE.
>> Simon: DON ROSS REPRESENTS
GREENWOOD TODAY IN THE STATE
LEGISLATURE.
HE IS ONE OF THE PRIME MOVERS
BEHIND THE CAMPAIGN TO UNCOVER
TULSA'S DIRTY LITTLE SECRET.
HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU HEARD
ABOUT THE RIOT OF 1921?
>> Ross: I WAS 15 AND IN HIGH
SCHOOL.
>> Simon: YOU HADN'T HEARD ABOUT
IT UNTIL YOU WERE 15?
>> Ross: NEVER HEARD, DIDN'T
BELIEVE IT.
>> Simon: WHAT ROSS ARD THEN,
IS THAT ON THE MORNING OF MAY
30, A YOUNG BLACK MAN GOT INTO
THE ELEVATOR OF A BUILDING
DOWNTOWN, AND THAT THE ELEVATOR
OPERATOR, A 16-YEAR-OLD WHITE
GIRL, SCREAMED.
>> THE "TULSA TRIBUNE," WHICH
WAS THE AFTERNOON DAILY
NEWSPAPER, PRINTED A FANTASTIC
WRITE-UP OF THIS EVENT.
THEY HAD A FRONT-PAGE STORY THAT
SAID, NABBED *** FOR ATTACKING
GIRL.
WITHIN THE NEXT HOUR, THERE'S
LYNCH TALK ON THE STREETS OF
TULSA.
>> HISTORIAN SCOTT ELLSWORTH HAS
BEEN STUDYING THE TULSA RIOT FOR
20 YEARS.
IT IS NOT JUST AN ACADEMIC QUEST
FOR ELLSWORTH, HE WAS BORN AND
RAISED IN TULSA.
SO WORD OF A LYNCHING WAS OUT ON
THE STREETS; WHITES STARTED
GATHERING.
HOW WERE BLACKS REACTING?
>> Ellsworth: GREAT CONCERN.
I MEAN, EVERYBODY KNEW WHAT WAS
ABOUT TO HAPPEN.
>> Simon: MANY OF TULSA'S BLACKS
WERE VETERANS THE FIRST WORLD
WAR AND ARMED.
A GROUP WENT TO THE COURTHOUSE
AND OFFERED THE SHERIFF TO HELP
DEFEND THE JAIL AND ITS BLACK
PRISONER.
THE SHERIFF TOLD THEM TO GO
HOME.
>> Ellsworth: AND AS THEY'RE
LEAVING, A WHITE MAN GOES UP TO
A TALL BLACK VET AND SAYS,
"WHERE YOU GOING WITH THAT GUN,
***?"
AND THE VET SAYS, "I'M GOING TO
USE IT IF I HAVE TO."
WHITE MAN SAYS, "LIKE HELL YOU
ARE.
GIVE IT TO ME."
A STRUGGLE; SHOT GOES OFF.
THE WORST RIOT IN AMERICAN
HISTORY BEGINS.
>> Simon: JUST ABOUT THEN, AS
DUSK WAS SETTLING IN, VENEICE
SIMMS WAS GETTING READY FOR HER
HIGH SCHOOL PROM.
>> Simms: HAD A BEAUTIFUL DRESS,
SHOES.
EVERYTHING NEW, AND EVEN SOME
BORROWED PEARLS.
THE SEAMSTRESS HAD LET ME HAVE
HER BORROWED PEARLS TO WEAR.
EVERYTHING.
>> Simon: DID YOU HAVE A
BOYFRIEND?
>> Simms: SURE.
(LAUGHS)
SECRETLY.
MY DADDY DIDN'T ALLOW US TO
COURT, BUT I HAD ONE.
>> Simon: AND THEN YOU'RE
SUPPOSED TO GO TO THE PROM.
AND WHAT HAPPENED?
>> Simms: WELL, THAT'S WHEN THE
RIOT, YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHEN IT
STARTED.
THAT'S WHEN THE BULLETS STARTED
FALLING.
>> Simon: MS. SIMMS, HER FAMILY,
AND MANY GREENWOOD RESIDENTS,
GOT OUT OF TOWN DURING THE
NIGHT.
OTHERS STAYED AND FOUGHT.
BUT BY DAWN THEY WERE
OVERWHELMED.
>> Ellsworth: RIGHT BEFORE DAWN,
AS MANY AS 10,000 WHITES
DESCENDED UPON BLACK TULSA.
>> Simon: OPENING FIRE?
>> Ellsworth: OPENING FIRE.
THERE WAS A BLOCK-BY-BLOCK
BATTLE THROUGHOUT THE BLACK
COMMUNITY.
THEY WOULD FORCE THE OCCUPANTS
OF A HOUSE OUT.
IF PEOPLE RESISTED, THEY WERE
MURDERED ON THE SPOT.
THE HOMES WERE LOOTED AND THEN
THEY WERE SET FIRE TO.
>> Simon: DID THE WHITE
AUTHORITIES DO ANYTHING TO TRY
TO PREVENT THIS OR CONTROL IT?
>> Ellsworth: THEY DON'T.
THEY SPEND MOST OF THEIR TIME
ARRESTING BLACKS AND DISARMING
BLACKS, PREVENTING THEM FROM
DEFENDING THEIR HOMES AND
BUSINESSES, TAKING THEM TO
INTERNMENT CENTERS AROUND TOWN.
>> Simon: SOUNDS LIKE AN EARLY
PRECURSOR OF ETHNIC CLEANSING.
>> Ellsworth: ABSOLUTELY.
>> Simon: KINNEY BOOKER'S FATHER
HID HIS WIFE AND FIVE CHILDREN
IN THE ATTIC JUST BEFORE ARMED
WHITES CAME TO THE FRONT DOOR.
>> Booker: WE COULD HEAR HIM
FROM THE ATTIC TALKING TO THEM.
SAID "***, DO YOU HAVE A
GUN?"
I THINK HE SAID NO.
AND HE SAID, "DON'T SET MY HOUSE
ON FIRE, PLEASE."
HE DIDN'T TELL HIM WHY.
BUT AFTER HE LEFT, NOT LONG
AFTER HE LEFT, THEY SET IT ON
FIRE AND WE HAD TO SCRAMBLE OUT
IN A HURRY.
AND THE SISTERS ARE STILL
LITTLE, SIX YEARS OLD.
SHE SAID, "IS THE WORLD ON FIRE,
KINNEY?
I SAID, "I DON'T KNOW, BUT WERE
IN TROUBLE.
DEEP TROUBLE."
>> Simon: THE TROUBLE CAME FROM
THE AIR, TOO.
INVESTIGATORS SAY SOME OF THE
FIRES YOU SEE IN THIS RARE
FOOTAGE OF THE RIOT WERE CAUSED
BY WHITES DROPPING EXPLOSIVES
FROM WORLD WAR I VINTAGE
BIPLANES FLYING OVER GREENWOOD.
THE FLAMES DESTROYED ALMOST
EVERY HOME AND BUSINESS IN
GREENWOOD, 35 SQUARE BLOCKS IN
ALL.
>> Simms: DIDN'T HAVE NO HOME,
EVERYTHING WAS BURNED.
ALL THERE WHERE WE LIVED JUST
BURNED DOWN TO THE GROUND.
>> Simon: LATE IN THE DAY,
MARTIAL LAW WAS DECLARED AND
NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS PATROLLED
THE STREETS.
THE DEAD WERE EVERYWHERE, THE
BODIES LYING WHERE THEY FELL.
PHOTOGRAPHERS TURNED SOME OF
THEIR GRISLY PICTURES INTO
SOUVENIR POSTCARDS.
MOST OF THE DEAD WERE BURIED
QUICKLY IN UNMARKED GRAVES
AROUND TOWN.
BUT SOME APPARENTLY, WERE LAID
TO REST HERE, IN TULSA'S OAK
LAWN CEMETERY, IN THIS ANONYMOUS
SECTION RESERVED FOR PAUPERS.
THERE WERE NO FUNERALS;
AUTHORITIES OUTLAWED FUNERALS.
THERE WERE NO COFFINS, NO HEAD
STONES, NO RECORDS OF BURIALS.
BUT A TEN-YEAR-OLD BOY SAW IT
ALL.
CLYDE EDDY WALKED BY THE
CEMETERY WITH A FRIEND, SAW SOME
MEN DIGGING, AND SOME BIG WOODEN
CRATES.
>> Eddy: AND WE WENT IN,
NATURALLY, AND WALKED UP TO THE
FIRST ONE AND RAISED THE LID UP.
THERE WAS THREE BODIES OF BLACK
MEN IN IT, JUST THROWN IN THERE.
AND WE WENT OVER TO ANOTHER
CRATE, A LARGER CRATE, AND
RAISED THE LID ON THAT, AND
THERE WAS FOUR BODIES IN THIS
ONE.
AND THERE WAS, LET'S SEE, ONE,
TWO, THERE WAS EITHER FOUR OR
FIVE MORE BOXES SCATTER AROUND.
AND, ABOUT THAT TIME, ONE OF THE
MEN SAW US AND THEY RUN US OUT.
>> Simon: THE NEWSPAPERS DIDN'T
THINK THE MASS GRAVES DESERVED
MANY HEADLINES.
AND THE WHITE CITY FATHERS,
PROUD OF THEIR BOOMING OIL TOWN,
NTED TO BURY THE STORY ALONG
WITH THE BODIES.
THE OFFICIAL VERSION, TYPOS AND
ALL, CAME IN A NATIONAL GUARD
REPORT.
IT SAID THERE WERE 35 DEAD, NINE
WHITES AND 26 BLACKS.
BUT THAT NUMBER JUST KEEPS ON
RISING.
>> Ellsworth: WE THINK NOW THAT
SOMETHING LIKE 300 PEOPLE WERE
KILLED IN THIS.
>> Simon: HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE
LEFT HOMELESS BY THE RIOT?
>> Ellsworth: OH, MY GOSH.
10,000 PEOPLE WERE LEFT HOMELESS
BY THE RIOT.
>> Simon: HOW MANY OF THOSE WERE
WHITE?
>> Ellsworth: NONE.
>> Simon: THE SURVIVORS LIVED IN
TENTS AND SHACKS WHICH THEY
BUILT THEMSELVES.
>> MY BROTHER WAS 14 AT THE
TIME.
HE HELPED MY FATHER STORE WOOD.
IT WAS RAINING.
AS I CAN REMEMBER, IT RAINED,
RAINED, RAINED.
IT SEEMED LIKE IT RAINED.
WE HAD A WOODEN FLOOR IN OUR
TENT.
WE WERE LUCKY TO HAVE THAT.
>> BUT TULSA'S WHITES GAVE THEM
SOMETHING, PROMISES.
NOW, IN FACT, AFTER THE RIOT,
THE CITY'S WHITE ESTABLISHMENT
SAID IT WAS GOING TO REBUILD.
WHAT HAPPENED?
>> THEIR LIED.
NOT A DIME.
THEY PROCEEDED... THEY
PROCEEDED TO PASS A FIRE
ORDINANCE THAT SAID, IN EFFECT,
THAT YOU CANNOT BUILD ON
PROPERTY THAT HAD BEEN BURNED.
THEY WANTED TO STARVE BLACKS OUT
OF THE LAND.
THEY MADE IT KNOWN TO ALL
PHILANTHROPIC GROUPS, "WE DON'T
WANT YOUR MONEY.
WE WILL TAKE CARE OF OUR OWN AND
THERE WILL BE NO PROBLEM."
THEY SPOKE.
THEY LIED.
>> COURTS AND INSURANCE COMPANY
PAID SOME DAMAGE CLAIM, CLAIMS
FILED BY WHITES.
ALL BLACK CLAIMS WERE REJECTED.
A GRAND JURY FILED NO CHARGES
AGAINST WHITES.
57 BLACKS WERE INDICTED FOR
RIOTING.
IN FACT, THEY PUT UP ONE HELL
OF A FIGHT.
>> Ross: IN MY COMMUNITY, AMONG
THOSE SURVIVORS, THEY WON THE
RIOT.
THEY WON IT, YOU KNOW?
ONLY, ONLY TILL THEY BROUGHT
AIRPLANES IN AND DROPPED BOMBS
AND FIRE BOMBS AND BROUGHT THE
NATIONAL GUARD IN COULD THEY
SUBDUE MY PEOPLE.
THAT'S THE VIEW FROM THE BLACK
COMMUNITY: THAT THE AIRPLANES
AND NATIONAL GUARD SAVED THEM
WHITE FOLKS.
WE WERE WINNING!
>> Simon: FOR ROSS, SETTING UP A
LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY
THE RIOT WAS A WAY OF KEEPING
THAT PRIDE ALIVE.
EDDIE FAYE GATES IS ONE THE
MEMBERS.
>> Gates: IT'S SAID HISTORY IS
THE LIE AGREED UPON.
WELL, SOMEBODY AGREED NOT TO
TELL THE STORY OF THE RIOT IN
TULSA.
AT FIRST, THAT WAS DENIAL, YOU
KNOW, IT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
NOW, TULSA AND OKLAHOMA'S WAY
PAST THE DENIAL STAGE.
>> Simon: THE COMMISSION STARTED
LOOKING FOR THE TRUTH, BY
LOOKING FOR THE DEAD.
BUT GREENWOOD IS LOOKING FOR
MORE THAN JUST SOME UNMARKED
GRAVES.
>> SOMEBODY HAS TO PAY WHEN
THEY DO WRONG.
IF YOU DON'T, IF THERE'S NO
PENALTY FOR WRONGDOING, THERE'S
NO INCENTIVE FOR SOCIETIES TO
DO THE RIGHT THING.
>> Simon: WHO SHOULD GET
REPARATIONS?
THE 60 OR 70 SURVIVORS, OR THE
DESCENDANTS OF ALL THE PEOPLE
WHO WERE WRONGED AT THE TIME?
>> Gates: MY WISH LIST-- WHICH I
DON'T THINK WE'LL EVER GET--
WOULD BE THAT THERE WOULD BE
ADEQUATE MONETARY PAYMENTS TO
SURVIVORS, THE LIVING SURVIVORS.
FOR THE DESCENDANTS, MAYBE
SCHOLARSHIPS, SCHOLARSHIPS FOR
THE COLLEGE-AGED CHILDREN OF
THESE DESCENDANTS.
>> Bill Graves: THE SONS DON'T
PAY FOR THE SINS OF THE FATHERS,
THEY PAY FOR ONLY THEIR OWN
SINS.
>> Simon: STATE REPRESENTATIVE
BILL GRAVES OPPOSED SETTING UP
THE COMMISSION, AND THINKS TULSA
SHOULD PUT THE PAST WHERE HE
SAYS IT BELONGS, IN THE PAST.
>> Graves: THE STATUTE OF
LIMITATIONS HAS RUN ON THE
PEOPLE HERE INVOLVED THAT WERE
INJURED.
>> Simon: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO
ONE OF THE SURVIVORS WHO WOULD
SAY TO YOU, LOST MY HOME, LOST
EVERYTHING MY FAMILY WORKED FOR?
>> Graves: I'D HAVE TO TELL
THEM, I DON'T THINK THEY HAVE
ANY RIGHT TO MONEY FROM THE
LEGISLATURE.
THIS IS A TRAGIC THING THAT
HAPPENED TO THEM.
TRAGIC THINGS HAPPEN TO OTHER
PEOPLE THAT, OR SEEMS UNJUST TO
US, BUT YET WE HAVE TO LIVE WITH
THEM.
>> Simon: WHAT DO YOU THINK
SHOULD COME OUT OF THIS?
A MEMORIAL?
>> Graves: I'D HAVE NO PROBLEM
WITH A MEMORIAL, THAT THESE
PEOPLE SHOULD BE, I THINK,
REMEMBERED AND HONORED FOR WHAT
THEY HAD TO GO THROUGH.
>> Simon: DON ROSS SAYS HE
DOESN'T NEED A MEMORIAL.
HE'S ALREADY GOT ONE.
HIS ANGER.
>> Ross: I FEEL STRONGLY, IF I'M
EVER SATISFIED WITH WHATEVER WE
DO, THAT I WILL LET DOWN SOME
PEOPLE WHO EDUCATED ME IN MY
LIFE, AND WHO DIED ANGRY, I AM
THEIR LIVING MEMORIAL, MY ANGER
IS.
>> Simon: BUT GEORGE MONROE, THE
KID WITH THE SORE FINGERS, HAS A
LONGER VIEW ABOUT REPARATIONS,
ABOUT MONUMENTS, AND ABOUT
EVERYTHING THAT'S HAPPENED AND
NOT HAPPENED IN TULSA SINCE THAT
DARK DAY IN 1921.
>> Monroe: IT'S STILL HERE, EVEN
TODAY, IN TULSA OKLAHOMA.
SEGREGATION'S STILL HERE, IT'S
STILL HERE.
BUT IT'S LOOSENING UP A LITTLE
BIT NOW.
>> Simon: SO 75 YEARS AFTER THE
RIOT, SEGREGATION IS LOOSENING
UP A BIT?
>> Monroe: A BIT.
THAT'S A GOOD DESCRIPTION, JUST
EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAID, A BIT.