Buried Deep
A grand jury at the time blamed the black community for the riot. No one was convicted of participating in the riot; no one was compensated for lost property. Soon after, the story essentially disappeared — buried so deeply that people who lived their entire lives here, including prominent leaders like mayors and district attorneys, said they had never heard of the riot until recent decades.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/20/us/20tulsa.html?pagewanted=all
This NY Times reporter had it right. In the years that I have lived in the area, I met very few people who had any idea the riot had even occurred. Upon learning that I was researching to write a series of novels, people’s reaction was usually something like, “You’re researching the what?” That was a few decades ago. Things have changed since then.
Greenwood Memorial Center
If you visit Greenwood today, you will see a beautiful edifice and a memorial to honor those who lost so much. As I gaze at that memorial reading the names there, I can’t help wondering what life would have been like had the destruction never occurred. Life for Greenwood and for Tulsa.
It’s nice to dream – but, sadly, no one will never know!
