Apology Offered: Time Beckoning For Tulsa, Oklahoma Reconciliation
RECONCILIATION — Ed Dwight, the nation’s first African-American astronaut and internationally known sculptor, unveils two monuments for a proposed museum relative to the 1921 Race War. One depicts familiar scenes from riot photographs illustrating the harshness, humiliation and hope demonstrated during the catastrophe. The other is what Dwight envisions as The Tower of Reconciliation. It links local and historical figures that moved blacks and whites toward some racial conciliation. (Courtesy of Tulsa World)
Transcribed By
E. L. Goodwin II
No. Twenty–Eight
The first apology for the 1921 race war by a public official was offered by State Representative Don Ross in 1996 ceremonies commemorating the Tulsa holocaust. Ross had first heard of the event from William David Williams, a typing and shorthand instructor at the all-black Booker Taliaferro Washington High School where the prominent legislator had been a student.
Williams had been a student. Williams was the son of John and Loula Williams, prominent Black Wall Street entrepreneurs.
The energetic and enthusiastic Ross said he apologized for the riot, the racism it had created and the hardships it precipitated on the African-American Community. More than 50 black and white survivors were among the 2,500 citizens attending the event. The historic services were held at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, one of the leading churches destroyed during the race war.
George Monroe had shared with Ross his experiences as a youngster during those dark days. Monroe and his sister, Lottie Monroe Carter, hid under a bed as white men entered their home and set it afire. His father, Osborne Monroe, also lost a business during the burning and was seen riding a bicycle by this writer during his later years, where he lived nearby in the neighborhood, at 327 E. Haskell Street.
His son, George, a talented drummer, first black Coca Cola route salesman, deputy sheriff, business entrepreneur and owner of the prominent “Pink House Club” joined assemblage in a “March Against Hate” from the Mt. Zion Church to the nearby Cultural Center where The black Wall Street Memorial was dedicated. Osborne Monroe’s name was inscribed on the granite cenotaph of losses in the destruction.
Former NAACP Director Benjamin Hooks delivered the keynote address. He said the riot and its “awful memory” was beckoning from time for reconciliation and that Tulsa would have to work hard to bring closure and become at peace with itself.
The persistent legislator, Ross, who once was employed by the Wonder Bread Company, said as a youngster hailing from Vinita, Oklahoma, most of the adults in his neighborhood were survivors, and he may have talked to as many as 400 of them.
The state representative, now retired, said historian John Hope Franklin, also a Tulsa native, may have framed his perspective. Franklin’s father, B.C. Franklin, was one of the real riot heroes. Recognizing that he was part of the last generations to have direct contact with the victims, Ross noted that if he didn’t tell the story, it could become lost to history. “I guess I was just waiting for the opportunity”, Ross said.
“To escape white violence, many of Tulsa’s African-Americans had been chased from everywhere”, Ross concluded. “Their bravery was an obligation of pride. In black history, Greenwood’s last stand is as symbolic as the Alamo is to American history. They may have overpowered and imprisoned in concentration camps, but they never surrendered their hearts, minds and tenacious resilience.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The Convention Hall, McNulty Park, Fair Grounds, and Servants Quarters were all safe havens for riot survivors. McNulty Baseball Park was located where the Warehouse Market was and Home Depot is, at 11th and Elgin streets. It was there for approximately twelve years and his not familiar to most Tulsans, as was Sam Avey’s Coliseum or the old city jail house at 4th and Elgin streets.
In 1997, the Oklahoma legislature passed legislation sponsored by Representative Ross and Senator Maxine Horner creating the Oklahoma Commission to study the 19231 Race Riot and to make recommendations including reparations for victims. The two lawmakers secured $5 million for a museum and memorial and $2 million in scholarships.
The legislature did not accept the commission’s recommendation regarding reparations and the issue is now before the federal court. It is time for action, reconciliation, and rejuvenation.
