The Fight for civil rights in the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921

In this paper, I will detail how the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 was not only a civil rights movement on the part of the black people in Tulsa, but also a detailed look into the way that civil rights was handled in a deeply racially divided city as Tulsa, Oklahoma. My research will feature many of the different survivors who were able to speak out about the injustice of the Tulsa Race Riot before they died; many of these people were children at the time. I also have a series of secondary sources from books from the library and some online sources. The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 begins before many of the major civil rights movements happen in the United States, but I believe that understanding the steps that black people had to take in order to declare their rights and how riots were used to stop black empowerment are essential to American history.

In this paper, I will also provide some discussion of the difference between the different civil right’s leaders and their movement in relation to the Tulsa Race Riot and why some of their advances were met with success when the one in Tulsa was met with complete failure. I will detail some of the prominent figures and the unknown figures that were crucial during the race riot and elaborate on their contributions. My thesis for this paper is as follows: After World War I the hope for equality both in the law and through the law was prominent in the minds of African Americans and many of them believed that taking a stand and declaring their rights was the way to fight against the inequalities against blacks; this was especially true for the African Americans whose actions spurred the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.

Little Africa and the Black Wall Street are two names often given in the description...

... middle of paper ...

...eemed full of hate and were using the N-word in every sentence they spoke. Arnold believed that these men were jealous of her father and grandfather who had nice homes and businesses. Arnold’s father got out his gun and demanded that the men get off their property and they next day after Arnold’s family had fled, someone in the neighborhood remembered an armed white guy who was asking about an “uppity Nigger who was so bold yesterday” (Gates). The white people in Tulsa planned to promote white supremacy at all cost. Simply because Arnold’s father had stood up for his family and his property he could have been murdered the next day by a mobster seeking revenge. The white mobs in Tulsa believed it was their duty to correct the black people in Tulsa who had become too “uppity”, but people like Arnold’s father were not going to be taken advantage of without a fight.