Tulsa Race Massacre and White-on-Black Violence

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Table of Contents

Creating a Research Question
Building Context to Address Questions
Examining How Bias Impacts Narrative
Connecting the Past with the Present
References

Creating a Research Question

The Tulsa Massacre was a massive manifestation of mass hatred, resulting in a large number of casualties and property damage. In recent years, understanding of the causes of the event has changed considerably, with many sources changing the name of the Race Riot to the Tulsa Race Massacre. A significant number of homes and households of people of color were destroyed overnight. The event became so widespread that martial law was imposed as a result of this unrest. This event is unprecedented in U.S. history in terms of the number of casualties, but also based on the controversy that arose in the media sphere. The main reason why this case became the basis of my research work is the fundamental imperfection in the structure of society that led to this catastrophe. The need for an in-depth investigation of the root causes and the response mechanism of various social institutions resonates with my values of equality and the unacceptability of the oppression of any group.

The question underlying the historical study is the assumption of how racial prejudice negatively affects society through the example of the Talaye Massacre. The answer will allow us to find out to what extent the reasons for the massacres described in the sources of the time period are close to the events that have been later recognized as true. The significance of the study of this aspect is due to the fact that the work with documentation and historical data will bring scientists closer to understanding the underlying causes of this catastrophe. This event still causes active disputes between historians, which is confirmed by numerous disputable articles in newspapers and attempts to rethink what has happened. The public does not forget this tragic episode, trying to reflect deeply on what mistakes were made and how the latter can be avoided so that such events never become part of reality again.

In order to formulate the final research question, a large body of data was examined, including scholarly papers, documents, and journalistic literature from different time periods. The latter were carefully analyzed in order to track changes in public opinion over time. As a result of working with the data, it was revealed that the reflexive article by Johnson has a global focus on the mass perception of the event that took place (Daniels & Proulx, 2021). The paper chose effective narrative construction techniques that allowed the target audience to understand the true causes of the disaster with sufficient and necessary emotional involvement of the readers. This led to an in-depth public understanding of what happened, which shows the unacceptability of interracial aggression in any society.

Building Context to Address Questions

In formulating the goals and objectives of the study, the context of the historical event was studied in detail. The most important point, which determines the understanding of the true causes of what happened, is the economic background. By the beginning of the 20th century, the state of Oklahoma had developed a large number of prerequisites for the development of large-scale oil production. Well, performance in the area was unprecedented, leading to a rapid influx of people into the city of Tulsa over the next decade. By 1921, about 100,000 people were registered in the area, which was close to the record numbers for U.S. cities (Daniels & Proulx, 2021). At the same time, blacks made up a large percentage of the population, about 11,000 residents. In fact, people of color were concentrated in only one part of the city, where a special infrastructure had developed.

Within this historical event, it is possible to identify several figures who directly or indirectly influenced the incitement of racial hatred in this region and American society as a whole. The trigger for the beginning of the massacre was an episode involving Dick Roeland, a black man who worked as a shoe shiner for white people (Daniels & Proulx, 2021). On one occasion, while this young man was interacting with a white girl, Sarah Page, female screams were heard, warily received by the public. Although there were no casualties in this episode, the shouting provoked a mass outcry, after which white people invaded black neighborhoods en masse and rioted.

Later events took on a rather spontaneous character, so it is impossible to single out specific personalities who significantly influenced the course of history. However, it is impossible not to mention a historical figure whose policies formed many prerequisites for racial hatred. Woodrow Wilson, president of the country at the time, played a major role in the legalization of racism in the territories of various states. He encouraged legislating segregation of black people and, as a result, contributed greatly to unfair stereotypes about people of color.

The Motivation of Participation in the Historical Event

Within this historical event, it is possible to identify several figures who directly or indirectly influenced the incitement of racial hatred in this region and American society as a whole. The trigger for the beginning of the massacre was an episode involving Dick Roeland, a black man who worked as a shoe shiner for white people. On one occasion, while this young man was interacting with a white girl, Sarah Page, female screams were heard warily received by the public (Johnson, 2020). Although there were no casualties in this episode, the shouting provoked a mass outcry, after which white people invaded black neighborhoods en masse and rioted (Daniels & Proulx, 2021). Later events took on a rather spontaneous character, so it is impossible to single out specific personalities who significantly influenced the course of history.

However, it is impossible not to mention a historical figure whose policies formed many prerequisites for racial hatred. Woodrow Wilson, president of the country at the time, played a major role in the legalization of racism in the territories of various states. He encouraged legislating segregation of black people and, as a result, contributed greatly to unfair stereotypes about people of color. The 19-year-old black shoeshiner mentioned above was a victim of circumstance and cannot be assumed to have had any particular motivation for participating in these events. Nevertheless, there were several groups of white people who had an economic interest in fomenting unrest among the white population. The economic development of the colored community was disadvantageous to local businessmen and politicians.

Examining How Bias Impacts Narrative

In dealing with scholarly sources, Johnson’s work was carefully analyzed to reflect on what had happened and to convince the masses that such an incident could not occur in the modern world. This source was based on a well-crafted narrative that was highly persuasive to the public. The logic of reasoning was based on the principles of brevity, coherence, consistency and emotionality. The author detailed the cause-and-effect relationships and analyzed every possible background that led to the massacre (Johnson, 2020). Ultimately, the audience develops a strong conviction about the errors in social organization that led to the Oklahoma massacre.

Understanding the true causes of the tragedy has been largely hampered by various prejudices that have been published in primary sources and subsequently quoted and paraphrased in secondary sources. Chief among these is the idea that the shoeshine incident involved an episode of violence, which is a typical manifestation of black behavior. Although there was no evidentiary basis, these prejudices were firmly entrenched in society and for many years, people thought that black people were indeed a major source of criminal behavior.

The only aspect that was omitted from the narrative was a global perspective that would allow historians and the public to trace the extent of the problem of racial aggression. It was important to show that the oppression of blacks was encouraged at the highest levels of the legislature. Moreover, it was important for the narrative to address the question of what future risks existed for a worsening or renewed situation.

Connecting the Past with the Present

My understanding of the problem was shaped by active work with primary sources as well as data on the events leading up to the Oklahoma tragedy. The most important aspect that led me to see the true causes of the event was the economic issue. It became clear that at the heart of the denigration of the black population was an attempt to maximize profits from the exploitation of vulnerable populations.

Studying this issue allowed me to analyze my own value system and to realize that my inner desire for equality and justice in society requires an analysis of all the errors in the organization of life in the state. Working with historical data will enable me to understand what imperfections exist in the world today and how they must be corrected so that economic, political, and other interests will no longer be a factor in determining interracial unrest.

Since there are episodes of discrimination and denigration of different minorities, analyzing and studying this historical event will allow people to understand the devastating consequences to which racial prejudice can lead. Moreover, the experience of times past clearly shows how important it is to combat stereotypes at the stage of coverage of certain events. There must be maximum publicity and consistency in matters of social injustice, and the way in which Johnson’s narrative has affected society is highly revealing.

References

Daniels, N., & Proulx, N. (2021). Teaching about the Tulsa race massacre with The New York Times. The New York Times. Web.

Johnson, H. B. (2020). Tulsa, then and now: Reflections on the Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre. Great Plains Quarterly, 40(3), 181-185. Web.

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