DOJ Launches Review of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

The U.S. Department of Justice is conducting a review of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, focusing on modern and historical civil rights laws. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke announced the initiative, which aims to analyze the massacre where up to 300 Black residents were killed by white attackers in Greenwood, Tulsa.

The U.S. Department of Justice has initiated a comprehensive review of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke announced. This evaluation aims to scrutinize the events in light of both modern and historical civil rights legislation.

The massacre began on May 31, 1921, when white assailants killed up to 300 Black individuals in Greenwood, Tulsa—a thriving neighborhood known as 'Black Wall Street.' Clarke indicated that the review is expected to conclude by the year's end.

'Upon completing our federal review, we will issue a report analyzing the massacre under both contemporary and historical civil rights law,' stated Clarke. This investigation is authorized under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, focusing on civil rights crimes before December 31, 1979.

The violence was triggered by accusations against a Black man for assaulting a white woman. Clarke noted no current expectations for prosecuting living perpetrators. However, this is the DOJ's first formal investigation into the massacre, despite prior research by various historians and legal scholars.

The DOJ is examining documents, eyewitness accounts, scholarly work, and other pertinent material related to the massacre.

(With inputs from agencies.)