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

The Johnny Bright Incident 1951

The Johnny Bright Incident, October 20, 1951, was a dark day in college sports, when a white player attacked an African-American player so violently, the man was knocked unconscious and his jaw was broken.

Johnny Bright, born June 11, 1930 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, was a top college football player while he attended Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. Bright received a track and field scholarship from Drake and lettered in football, track, and basketball during his schooling.

In his sophomore year, he lead the nation in total offense, and the Drake Bulldogs finished the season 6-2-1.  In his junior year, he set an NCAA record for total offense (2,400 yards) in 1950, again leading the Bulldogs to a 6-2-1 record.  He was considered a Heisman Trophy candidate and was leading the national again in rushing and total offense during his senior year.

The Bulldogs had won their five previous games when they traveled to Stillwater, Oklahoma to take on Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University).  Apparently, it was no secret that A&M players were targeting Bright claiming that he "would not be around at the end of the game". During the first seven minutes of the game, Bright was knocked unconscious and had his jaw broken by three blows from defensive tackle Wilbanks Smith.  

The incident was captured by Des Moines Register cameramen John Robinson and Don Ultang, and showed clearly the blow that broke Bright's jaw was delivered well after he had handed off the ball. They had been watching him when rumors of his targeting became too much to ignore. The six-frame sequence won Robinson and Ultang the 1952 Pulitzer Prize for Photography.

A&M's president Oliver Willham denied anything had happened even when presented with overwhelming evidence.  Smith was not penalized and NEVER apologized.  HE maintained he was not racist nor was it a racially motivated incident.

Yeah, right.  The incident provoked changes in NCAA rules regarding illegal block and the use of helmets with face guards.  The wikipedia article doesn't mention if there were any changes to rules concerning physical assault on other players.

Of course, Oklahoma A&M was not going to take any action against Smith, because they won the game.

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.