The Real Citizenship
From the outset, the entire incident quickly earned the moniker of “the negro uprising.” As agencies across the nation attempted to reach out and send aid to the victims, leaders of the Tulsa community turned it away. Their stance was that it was their problem and they would take care of it.
“Tulsa feels intensely humiliated and …pledges its every effort in wiping out the stain…the disgrace and disaster.”
“The rest of the United States must know that the real citizenship of Tulsa weeps at this unspeakable crime and will make good the damage, so far as can be done to the last penny.”*
To “make good the damage” never happened. Meanwhile the “real citizenship” as they called themselves, set forth to pass a particular fire ordinance that would forever prohibit the citizens of Greenwood from ever rebuilding. (Thankfully, this folly was later defeated in the Oklahoma Supreme Court.)
*Death in a Promised Land: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, Scott Ellsworth, p. 83.
Angels of Mercy – The Red Cross
The one agency allowed to assist – and this almost from the very outset – was the Red Cross. Many referred to the agency as “angels of mercy,” as they ministered physically and emotionally to the shell-shocked victims .
Red Cross files would later show that between June 1, 1921, and January 1, 1922, they handled the cases of 8,624 individuals (2,480 family units). The care included clothing, bedding, beds, tents, laundry, cooking utensils, dishes, material for clothes, and so forth. Additionally, the Red Cross assisted victims by sending, free of charge, 1,350 telegrams to notify relatives around the country of their safety.
Tulsa Turning - Tulsa Series #2
