Okla. Stat. tit. 74, § 74-8000.1

The Oklahoma Legislature hereby finds, pursuant to the final

report of The 1921 Tulsa Race Riot Commission regarding the 1921

Tulsa Race Riot of May 31-June 1, 1921, and the riot=s place in the

history of race relations in Oklahoma:

1. The root causes of the Tulsa Race Riot reside deep in the

history of race relations in Oklahoma and Tulsa which included the

enactment of Jim Crow laws, acts of racial violence (not the least

of which was the 23 lynchings of African-Americans versus only one

white from 1911) against African-Americans in Oklahoma, and other

actions that had the effect of “putting African-Americans in

Oklahoma in their place” and to prove to African-Americans that the

forces supportive of segregation possessed the power to “push down,

push out, and push under” African-Americans in Oklahoma;

2. Official reports and accounts of the time that viewed the

Tulsa Race Riot as a “Negro uprising” were incorrect. Given the

history of racial violence against African-Americans in Oklahoma,

including numerous lynchings by white mobs, and the breakdown of the

rule of law in Tulsa on May 31-June 1, 1921, it is understandable

that African-Americans believe they needed to assist Tulsa police in

protecting Dick Rowland, an African-American accused of attempting

to rape a white woman, against an assembled white mob. The

documentation assembled by The 1921 Tulsa Race Riot Commission

provides strong evidence that some local municipal and county

officials failed to take actions to calm or contain the situation

once violence erupted and, in some cases, became participants in the

subsequent violence which took place on May 31 and June 1, 1921, and

Oklahoma Statutes - Title 74. State Government Page 1223

even deputized and armed many whites who were part of a mob that

killed, looted, and burned down the Greenwood area;

3. The staggering cost of the Tulsa Race Riot included the

deaths of an estimated 100 to 300 persons, the vast majority of whom

were African-Americans, the destruction of 1,256 homes, virtually

every school, church and business, and a library and hospital in the

Greenwood area, and the loss of personal property caused by rampant

looting by white rioters. The Tulsa Race Riot Commission estimates

that the property costs in the Greenwood district was approximately

$2 million in 1921 dollars or $16,752,600 in 1999 dollars.

Nevertheless, there were no convictions for any of the violent acts

against African-Americans or any insurance payments to African-

American property owners who lost their homes or personal property

as a result of the Tulsa Race Riot. Moreover, local officials

attempted to block the rebuilding of the Greenwood community by

amending the Tulsa building code to require the use of fire-proof

material in rebuilding the area thereby making the costs

prohibitively expensive;

4. Perhaps the most repugnant fact regarding the history of the

1921 Tulsa Race Riot is that it was virtually forgotten, with the

notable exception of those who witnessed it on both sides, for

seventy-five (75) years. This "conspiracy of silence" served the

dominant interests of the state during that period which found the

riot a “public relations nightmare” that was “best to be forgotten,

something to be swept well beneath history=s carpet” for a community

which attempted to attract new businesses and settlers;

5. The work of many individual Oklahomans and now of The 1921

Tulsa Race Riot Commission has forever ended the “conspiracy of

silence” surrounding the events in Tulsa of May 31-June 1, 1921, and

their aftermath. The Commission has subsequently turned the

responsibility for how the State of Oklahoma will respond to the

historical record to the 48th Oklahoma Legislature; and

6. The 48th Oklahoma Legislature in enacting the 1921 Tulsa

Race Riot Reconciliation Act of 2001 concurs with the conclusion of

The 1921 Tulsa Race Riot Commission that the reason for responding
-June 1, 1921, and

their aftermath. The Commission has subsequently turned the

responsibility for how the State of Oklahoma will respond to the

historical record to the 48th Oklahoma Legislature; and

6. The 48th Oklahoma Legislature in enacting the 1921 Tulsa

Race Riot Reconciliation Act of 2001 concurs with the conclusion of

The 1921 Tulsa Race Riot Commission that the reason for responding

in the manner provided by this act is not primarily based on the

present strictly legal culpability of the State of Oklahoma or its

citizens. Instead, this response recognizes that there were moral

responsibilities at the time of the riot which were ignored and has

been ignored ever since rather than confront the realities of an

Oklahoma history of race relations that allowed one race to “put

down” another race. Therefore, it is the intention of the Oklahoma

Legislature in enacting the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot Reconciliation Act

of 2001 to freely acknowledge its moral responsibility on behalf of

the state of Oklahoma and its citizens that no race of citizens in

Oklahoma has the right or power to subordinate another race today or

ever again.

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