by Daniel Johnson
January 12, 2025
The investigation found that the attack was caused by unfounded allegations that a Black teenager assaulted a white woman.
After completing its four-month investigation into the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which devastated Black Wall Street, the Department of Justice concluded on Jan. 10 that the original one-week inquiry conducted by a single agent from the Bureau of Investigation, the FBI’s predecessor, was inadequate by today’s investigative standards.
According to ABC News, the new report clarified that several aspects of the initial report were flagrant misrepresentations of what actually happened during the massacre.
“Contrary to the agent’s 1921 report, the situation did not ‘spontaneously’ grow out of control,” the new report proclaimed. “Rather, what had initially been sporadic and opportunistic violence became systematic, yielding a much more devastating result, due to coordinated efforts among white residents and law enforcement entities. Moreover, although the 1921 report asserts that the massacre (then called a riot) was not the result of ‘racial feeling,’ perpetrators of the massacre overtly expressed and acted upon racial bias.”
According to the DOJ, investigators for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division “spoke with survivors and with descendants of survivors, examined firsthand accounts of the massacre given by individuals who are now deceased, studied primary source materials, spoke to scholars of the massacre and reviewed legal pleadings, books, and scholarly articles relating to the massacre.”
In congruence with many historical scholars of the event, the investigation found that the attack was caused by unfounded allegations that a Black teenager, 19-year-old Dick Rowland, assaulted a white woman who was operating an elevator he used.
Per the report, after the police deputized residents who had been looking to carry out a lynching law “enforcement officers helped organize these special deputies — as well as other white Tulsans — into the martial forces that ravaged Greenwood. Over the next several hours, they looted, burned, and destroyed 35 city blocks while Greenwood’s residents tried desperately to defend their homes.”
The report continued, “Some Black residents were shot (or otherwise assaulted), and many were arrested or detained. Law enforcement actively participated in the destruction, disarming Black residents, confiscating their weapons, and detaining many in makeshift camps under armed guard.”
Due to the length of time that has passed, the Justice Department is unable to take any legal action, per the report.
“The report recognizes that some may find the department’s inability to prosecute a painful or dissatisfying outcome,” the DOJ said in a statement regarding the report. “However, the review recognizes and documents the horrible events that occurred as well as the trauma and loss suffered by the residents of Greenwood.”
In a statement, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said that the attack stands alone in the annals of American history due to the barbarity, magnitude, racist hostility and annihilation of Greenwood’s Black community.
“Now, more than 100 years later, there is no living perpetrator for the Justice Department to prosecute. But the historical reckoning for the massacre continues. This report reflects our commitment to the pursuit of justice and truth, even in the face of insurmountable obstacles. We issue this report with recognition of the courageous survivors who continue to share their testimonies, acknowledgement of those who tragically lost their lives and appreciation for other impacted individuals and advocates who collectively push for us to never forget this tragic chapter of America’s history,” Assistant Attorney General Clarke said.
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