Tensions between the whites and the blacks arose because of the discriminatory nature of the law. The blacks felt they needed a law that was equitable and non-discriminatory, whereas the whites viewed the situation in the context of black being obligated or supposed to obey the white. Tensions were evident in the editorials aligned to the two cultures supporting each of their culture’s points of view. This paper will look into the various difficulties surrounding the law, which brought the differences between the two cultures and their interpretations of the same. These differences lead to the rising of riots at Greenland in Oklahoma which led to deaths and property damage.
According to a weekly black newspaper named Muskogee Cimeter, measures that would seek to improve the black man’s wellbeing, mentality, and his industry were not taken thought of, and yet there was the passing of laws that could control and punish the blacks. The statutes that were enacted in the law were primarily meant to provide for discrimination of the blacks, for example, the Oklahoma legislation law that would keep them from registering as voters, which was passed by the Oklahoma legislature after the striking of the Oklahoma grandfather clause by the court in 1951. Black men’s editorials featured complaints about how blacks faced capricious arrests and unequal treatment from the police officers and the attack and insults of the blacks from the white community.
There was a different understanding among the two on “law”. According to the blacks, anything that was against justice and so different from the Constitution’s promise of equal protection could not be law. They did not view the statutes and the dictates of law enforcement officers as law. Sometimes, the black would win the day such as the striking down of Oklahoma’s discriminatory voter registration statute in 1915 by the United States Supreme Court, but other times they had to wait for another day. The blacks sought to communicate the injustices against them through the newspapers, but others were becoming violent as they demanded equal treatment. The blacks were also against lynching (p. 26). The reaction against lynching sparked important discussion on justice ad some people were even forced to act to band together to protect themselves. The Tulsa Star urged the blacks to protect themselves and chastised the blacks for not defending Chandler, a prisoner who had been lynched earlier on. The editorial viewed that the proper time to protect any prisoner was before or during the execution of lynching. There was a division among the black community between those who wanted to pitch battle with the police in response to Chandler’s lynching and those who wanted to use violence to protect the community members against lynching.
The lynching of Belton under witnessing of Tulsa Police Chief John Gustafson taught that no one was safe in the hands of the Tulsa officials, while the lynching of Chandler by being taken from the prison sparked the need for a community spirit to protect the black communities as it was perceived that the police would not do so.
A group of blacks freed John McShane who had been taken into “protective custody” after winning a fistfight with a white man. This freeing took place in 1921 and a policeman was shot in the process. This sparked a different focus into this incident between the black and the white. The blacks argued that the act was justifiable and that when the sheriff was bringing McShane to jail the sheriff did not know that McShane would be taken from there and lynched. But the whites’ papers focused on the killing of the deputy sheriff during the freeing of McShane. There were plans to communicate to the Greenland community through an editorial that the black community would rise up in defense of anyone in danger of being lynched.
Another problem was that courts did not grant justice against lynchers or did not uphold the law. Black lawbreakers were also being subjected to judgment by a White authority at the court. The tensions at Tulsa also included the whites who feared the blacks as they were seeking “social equality” while the blacks enjoyed the freedom to fight against lynching. The white men responded for example by alleging that a white woman was raped or assaulted by a black man. Such was a story of Sarah Page-a a worker as an elevator operator and Dick Rowland who worked in the Drexel Building on the ground floor shining shoes. Page, who had brought the car to the ground floor, had screamed when Rowland was leaving the elevator after using the restroom at the top of the building (p. 24). The Tulsa Tribune carried the story and alleged assault and attempted rape of the white woman. The Black Dispatch however denied it and referred to the story published in the Tulsa Tribune as a “false story which set Tulsa on fire”. The two were said to be lovers or knew each other through nothing was known. There has been alleged that the Tulsa Tribune encouraged lynching, while there were fears that Rowland would be lynched. Smitherman, a good renowned fighter of justice played a role in inciting the riots through the Tulsa Star as well as providing ideological leadership and a meeting place for people to consider the next course of action as events were unfolding. There was physical matching to the white Tulsa to protect Rowland (p. 29). Later on, a riot arose in Tulsa. The events involved torching down of property, killing, mob violence, assaults and looting.
The riot led to the destruction of property such as the burning of about thirty city blocks, homelessness to about more than a thousand families, and the death of about 150 people. The riot left the prosperous blacks at Greenwood and Oklahoma in rubbles as well as represented an instance of breakdown of the rule of law. Violent racist acts could have happened under the watch of government officials and police. The officials and the police have also been indicated as having participated in the arming of citizens and arresting blacks irresponsibly and thus leaving their property to vulnerable attacks from the whites. Despite the riots, a series of events led to the settling down of the two in the same community.
The Tulsa riot was sparked by a series of events that encouraged hatred among the whites and the blacks in the community. The source of the problem was the divergent views over the laws of the land that sought to deny justice to the blacks and treated them unequally. The whites held that the blacks needed to obey the whites while the blacks championed equal treatment. A series of events led to the desire of blacks to unite to protect their community and the white feared the occurrence. Violence and riot finally were witnessed after a series of events.
The Tulsa riot led to damage of property, killing of people, homelessness, and poverty but later incidences led to peace in the community.
Work Cited
Brophy A., Randall, K. Reconstructing the dreamland; The Tulsa Riot of 1921. race, reparations and reconciliation. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.