Vigil Remembering Tulsa Race Riots-90 Years Later

Reported by: Jamie Oberg Email: joberg@fox23.com
May 31st – the anniversary of a sad day in Tulsa’s history; it’s the 90th anniversary of the race riots.
After sixteen hours of attacks, hundreds were injured and nearly 10,000 people were left homeless.

A candlelight vigil will be held Wednesday night from 7:30-8:30 p.m. at John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park in downtown Tulsa.
Fox23’s Jamie Oberg spoke with one local author who told the story of the Race Riots many had never heard.

“Recognize it happened, don’t let it happen again.”

As Tulsa remembers the Race Riots in the Greenwood District 90 years ago, author and native Tulsan Eddie Faye Gates remembers why she authored a book explaining what happened so long ago.

“Just hanging people, hanging people based on nothing but color,” Gates said. “A lot of the survivors are very bitter and didn’t want to hear from you all.”

A lot of the survivors are gone now, but Gates tries to tell their stories from 1921.

“Now they know a lot of people just simply didn’t know, what was going on…good people who didn’t know.”

For decades, what happened here was covered up and not taught to younger generations in Oklahoma.

“People were ashamed in Tulsa about the race riot of 1921, race itself was covered up,” Gates said. “There were good people who knew this wasn’t good and there were others who would shoot them down like they were nothing.”

Gates tells us it’s not too late to tell the story so it never happens again. “I wanted to tell the truth it wasn’t known, people were shocked people didn’t know about the riot,” she said. “Now everybody is so sad it happened can’t do enough to help. What can we do to help? Get the whole story and get it out there.”
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