Tulsa Massacre: Workers unite & fight, rulers loot & terrorize

Tulsa, Oklahoma is the story of looting and dispossession. It is one of the countless massacres in the history of the United States, often skipped over in history class. It left behind untold suffering as thousands of Black residents were left homeless after three  days of racist terror and violence. As U.S. bosses celebrated  Independence Day, Frederick Douglass’s 1852 speech “"What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” rang even more true this year—“for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival.”
Early setbacks for Black-white unity
Tulsa, Oklahoma was one of the fastest growing towns during the oil boom of the early 1900’s. Jim Crow laws were among Oklahoma’s first legal acts after statehood and segregation was more complete in Tulsa than it was in most other American cities (see Death in the Promised Land by Scott Ellsworth).
Both the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and the Oklahoma Socialist Party had active chapters in Tulsa . Both had Black members and called for multi-racial unity. Their slogan was “raise our wages.” The IWW had been leading strikes in Texas and had attempted to organize in the oil fields in Tulsa. They were clearly a threat to local bosses and politicians. But, in 1917 the police raided the local union hall, arresting 17  IWW members who were later brought up on various phony  charges.
In an editorial from the local bosses press, the World, the advice was “All is necessary is the evidence and a firing squad.” Found guilty after a short trial, IWW members were attacked on their way to county jail, by a Klan type group, Knights of Liberty. With the help of the police, the union men were tied to a tree, whipped and tortured. That evening signs were posted- Notice to IWW’s Don’t Let The Sun Set On You in Tulsa. The Tulsa Klan boasted a “thriving chapter” in 1921 with chapters for men, women, and even boys. In Tulsa county, both the Republican and Democratic candidates for county attorney were Klansmen (Ku Klux Klan in the Southwest by Charles Alexander).  They were not about to have union organizers who believed in Black-white unity in their midst.
Bosses unleash a reign of terror
From May 31-June 1, 1921 the Black community in Tulsa experienced what can only be described as a reign of terror. After rumors that a 19 year old Black man, Dick Rowland, had attempted to assault a 17 year old white woman, Sarah Paige, in an elevator were published in the Tulsa Tribune, thousands of white men, with the aid and direction  of the cops and city leaders , were deputized and armed.
In  the course of one day they  burned down one  square mile of a suburb called Greenwood, later to be nicknamed “Black Wall Street.” Homes and shops were destroyed. Black residents were shot down in the street. Both the National Guard and local cops joined the attack, dropping sticks of dynamite and firing machine guns. Local Black towns came under the surveillance of “airborne reconnaissance.” A brave but unsuccessful armed defense of the community was led by Black World War I veterans. As W.E.B. DuBois wrote- “We went to fight. We came back fighting.”
Thousands of Black residents spent the winters of 1921/1922 in flimsy tents. According to an investigation by the Tulsa Race Riot Commission, almost 300 Black people were killed and 6,000 Black men were jailed. Some men stayed in jail for as long as eight  days. Martial law was declared, Black people were rounded up at gunpoint and taken to refugee camps. They could only travel if issued a green pass (Tulsa Race War by  R Haliburton, Jr.).
The only solution is communist revolution
The use of violence against the working class, especially Black and Latin workers is ongoing and constant. There are hundreds of examples of massacres by the U.S. government dating back to the 1700s. Teaching about Tulsa, or Rosewood, or the Red Summer of 1919 forces the question- what kind of system do we live under? Why would we not unite together to build a better system where workers’ needs are met without grinding others under foot? Who wouldn’t want to be able to live in union with workers regardless of perceived differences? Communist revolution is the only solution for a multi-racial, united, and free working class.  A world where there is food, housing and work for all is possible The Progressive Labor Party fights for this, join us!