Tulsa Race Massacre begins 1921

One of the worst, if not THE worst, race riots began in Tulsa, Oklahoma May 31, 1921. A young black man, Dick Rowland, was accused of assaulting a white woman in an elevator in the city.  The man was arrested, but word got around, mainly due to the white newspaper in Tulsa at the time, spreading rumors of a lynching.  The paper used inflammatory language which stirred up the white population into a murderous frenzy.

The black community rallied around Rowland, by arming themselves and showing up at the jail where he was being held.  The sheriff reassured them that Rowland would not be lynched.  However as the crowd began to disperse, a gunshot was heard and "all hell broke loose".

The riots, arson, and murders took place in the Greenwood area of Tulsa, a wealthy, black neighborhood, which had been dubbed "Black Wall Street". 

Over the course of two days, people were killed, houses were burned, businesses were looted, and scores injured. The exact number of casualties is unknown but estimates range from 36 dead to 300.

For decades, the incident was kept quiet and omitted from local, state, and national histories.  The Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 was formed in 1996. The commission reported that the city had conspired with the racist mob.  Oklahoma passed legislation to establish scholarships for descendants of the survivors, and develop a park in memory of the victims of the massacre.  Schools in Oklahoma have been required to teach students about the massacre since 2002, and the massacre became an official part of the Oklahoma school curriculum.

However, the governor and the state superintendent of schools have declared teachers cannot teach that the massacre was based on race.

To read more about this go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_massacre

Elaine Massacre, Arkansas 1919

The summer following the end of World War I in 1919 became known as the Red Summer, in which mobs of white men attacked and killed black men in dozens of cities across the United States.  In Arkansas, landowners used the black man's ability to read or write to their advantage and ensured the black population remained mired in debt.  

Robert Hill, a black farmer from Winchester, Arkansas, founded the Progressive Farmers and Household Union of American (PFHUA) to help farmers get fair pay for their crops and negotiate for better conditions.  

Whites saw this as a prelude to insurrection.  On September 30, 1919, the PFHUA met with about 100 black farmers at a church near Elaine to discuss their options.  They placed armed guards outside to protect the meeting.  When two deputized, white men and a black trustee showed up, shots were fired.  One of the white men was killed and the other wounded.  It has never been determined who fired the first shot, but it ignited a powder keg.

The sheriff called for a posse to capture the suspects and prevent a black insurrection.  As many as 1000 men were estimated to have answered the call.  They attacked and killed black people on sight.  Arkansas Governor Charles Brough called it a Negro uprising, saying black people planned to kill white leaders. 

Official records at the time count eleven black men and five white men killed.  Other estimates claim up to 237 black men killed.  An investigation resulted in indictments against 122 blacks for the murders of the white men.  

Twelve defendants, known as the Arkansas Twelve (or Elaine Twelve) were eventually convicted by all-white juries and sentenced to death in the electric chair.  The NAACP appealed to the Supreme Court, who overturned the death sentences since they determined the men's convictions lacked due process.  In 1923, the Arkansas Twelve were released.

Celebrating Pride Month - Remembering the victims of the Pulse Nightclub massacre

June 12, 2016, a security guard who had pledged allegiance to ISIL walked into the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida and killed 49 people with a semi-automatic rifle.  Fifty-three more were injured.  The club was hosting a Latino night so most of the victims were Latin.  It is the worst attack against the LGBT in history.  It was the deadliest mass shooting until the massacre in Las Vegas the following year. 

So many young beautiful lives cut short by hate.

You can find a list of the victims here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orlando_nightclub_shooting