The Destruction of Black Wall Street: Tulsa's 1921 Riot and the Eradication of Accumulated Wealth

• Published date: 01 May 2018
• Date: 01 May 2018
• Author: Chris M. Messer,Thomas E. Shriver,Alison E. Adams
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12225

The Destruction of Black Wall Street: Tulsa’s

1921 Riot and the Eradication of

Accumulated Wealth

By CHRIS M. MESSER*, THOMAS E. SHRIVER†, and ALISON E. ADAMS‡

ABSTRACT. The Tulsa race riot of 1921 was one of the most destructive

riots in American history. Prior to the riot, the Greenwood community

was among the wealthiest African-American neighborhoods in the

state. Residents of Greenwood had successfully developed their own

business infrastructure, and by the early 1920s the neighborhood was

rapidly expanding and flourishing economically. The attack by white

citizens on a flourishing black neighborhood not only resulted in mass

casualties, but it destroyed nearly all of the African-American-owned

businesses and churches, as well as many residential properties. The

economic prosperity of Greenwood was obliterated overnight. The

Greenwood community was perceived as a threat to white hegemony.

The riot and its aftermath served to effectively impede African-

American prosperity. The city of Tulsa provided very little monetary

assistance following the event. Greenwood residents attempted to

rebuild following the destruction, but the community never regained

*Associate Professor of Sociology, Colorado State University–Pueblo. Research inter-

ests: social movements, organizational deviance, and collective behavior. His work has

appeared in The Sociological Quarterly, Deviant Behavior,Rural Sociology,Journal of

Social History, and Journal of Black Studies. Email: chris.messer@csupueblo.edu

†Professor of Sociology, North Carolina State University. Research interests: social

movements, environmental sociology, political sociology, and environmental justice.

He studies protest and repression in various political and historical contexts. Current

research: dissident activism in authoritarian settings, as well as local environmental

justice activism in several contaminated communities in the United States and the

Czech Republic. Email: tom_shriver@ncsu.edu

‡Assistant Professor, School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of

Florida. Research interests: environmental sociology and social movements. She is cur-

rently examining community conflict surrounding environmental issues such as indus-

trial contamination and controversial land use decisions. Her work has been

published in Social Forces, Mobilization, The Sociological Quarterly, and Research in

Social Movements, and Conflict and Change. Email: alison.adams@ufl.edu

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Vol. 77, Nos. 3–4 (May-September, 2018).

DOI: 10.1111/ajes.12225

V

C2018 American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Inc.

the same economic standing. We argue that the Tulsa riot of 1921 was

one of many examples of racial violence during the early part of the

20

th

century that had long-lasting economic and social legacies for

African Americans.

Introduction

In 1921, the African-American Greenwood community in Tulsa,

Oklahoma was victim to one of the deadliest and most destructive riots

in American history. In addition to mass casualties, the Greenwood

community suffered losses including completely destroyed homes,

businesses, churches, and public buildings, totaling approximately $1.8

million in 1921 dollars. Despite the devastation, the city of Tulsa pro-

vided virtually no assistance to Greenwood residents to rebuild their

neighborhood. The riot resulted not only in the destruction of 35 city

blocks in Greenwood, but it wiped out the accumulated wealth of

countless residents and stymied the community’s economic prospects

for the future. (For further reading on the riot, see Ellsworth 1982; Gates

2003; Johnson 1998; Oklahoma Commission to Study the Race Riot of

1921 2001.) The Greenwood district was distinct because, prior to the

riot, the African-American community had achieved tremendous eco-

nomic success due to abundant entrepreneurial activities. However, the

accumulation of wealth in this community was perceived as a threat,

triggering significant hostility toward African-American residents. In this

article, we make important connections between this perceived eco-

nomic threat and the racial violence that occurred in 1921. We start by

analyzing the community’s wealth prior to the riot, highlighting its thriv-

ing economic activities. We then discuss the Tulsa riot and analyze the

role played by local government—both directly and indirectly—in per-

petuating the violence and in stymying Greenwood’s economic

development.

Our research draws on a variety of primary and secondary source

materials, including archival documents from legal cases and the

National Guard, census data, published oral narratives, and newspaper

coverage. Archival news coverage from the daily newspapers Tulsa

World and Tulsa Tribune was particularly important for analyzing the

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