Soapbox Friday: The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Before skipping ahead to the main article, I highly recommend watching this 30-minute documentary on the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre:

My name is Ryen Belle Harran. I am a public health student at George Washington University and I am working with Dr. Michael C Caldwell on a number of projects as a Dry January USA® Ambassador. I am also a big LUSH fan, especially since their commitment to go animal testing-free and vegan in 2019. I love their scented bath bombs, hand soaps, and cosmetics. Love - Love - Love them!

A few days ago, I walked into the new LUSH location at The Mall at Green Hills and told Dr. Caldwell about it. He told me about their participation in Justice For Greenwood, which involves activism through education and contacting the Department of Justice regarding the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921. And a few days later, he sent me the video that you have (hopefully) watched at the beginning of this article.

For a long time, I had been feeling discontent with the waning patriotism that I had been noticing over the past several years. The majority of news sources have been sensationalizing our current politics. Social media has been wrecking the mental health of the majority of users. The rise of the age of information - the digital age - has brought forth various new forms of addiction, turning societal norms upside down - from what used to be wanting to be a part of your neighborhood to craving the highest number of likes and followers one could get, and spreading misinformation in order to achieve that digital status. I have been facing the heartbreaking reality that although the United States has come very far, we still have a lot to learn and a lot of wounds to heal. It has been too long since the influential have sown seeds of discord among families, friends, and strangers, all for the selfish pursuit of their own agendas - all of which fall under two categories: fame and money.

This is what has been happening in Greenwood, Tulsa, Oklahoma. On May 31 and June 1, 1921, Greenwood was razed by a white mob (in this case, mob meaning the entire white population of Tulsa), resulting in hundreds of deaths, countless injuries, and the complete destruction of homes and businesses in Greenwood. Once, Greenwood was known as "Black Wall Street" for its thriving businesses and affluent African American residents, some of the very few in this country, all of which were erased from the annals of history. Today, Greenwood's community faces ongoing challenges of economic disparity, racial inequality, and historical trauma, which they are still trying to find justice for. Attempts of restitution and city-funded rebuilding projects continue to be hindered to this day. An Oklahoma district court judge even went so far as to dismiss the case, saying this "historical event does not provide a person unlimited rights to seek compensation."

Unlimited rights??

Greenwood received nothing.

In fact, immediately following the massacre, the surviving residents of Greenwood were exploited as "free manual labor." Even more, the city's "rebuilding efforts" were simply a coy to their plans on capitalizing on the land for which Greenwood residents received nothing in return. All the white businessmen who took over the majority of Greenwood continued to pocket all of the money.

Then, the unthinkable happened. "Urban renewal efforts" separated black Tulsa residents from opportunity even more. The highway system was purposely designed to cut right through the city, cutting Greenwood in half and displacing its residents once more. This is a situation I am personally all too familiar with, here in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as across the rest of the country.

Since the early 2000s, Damario Solomon-Simmons, Esq., M.Ed., a local with deep family roots in Greenwood, has been spearheading the legal battle for the rights of some of the longest-surviving individuals (and their families), Viola Fletcher, Lessie Benningfield Randle, and Hughes Van Ellis, who recently passed away. Just 2 days ago, on July 3, 2024, Randle and Fletcher called the Department of Justice for an open federal probe - the timing of which seems, in a way, a beautiful reminder that Independence Day is not just some distant historical memory, but an event which led to the rights Americans still need to fight for to this day.

I recall the glimmer of hope that I find every year when we celebrate Independence Day. As I am stepping off my little soapbox, I find it fitting that I watched the Lush documentary, Greenwood is Still Burning, on the 4th of July, and I hope that it remains a strong reminder for you, as it has to me, that the freedom our country's soldiers have fought for over, is one which every American citizen must be granted. As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, the challenges Americans have had and will face in the years to come will remind us that Independence Day will one day again inspire hope and unity through our past and history to come.

LUSH has created a message form for their movement, Justice for Greenwood. To learn more about Greenwood and LUSH's call-to-action, see this site: https://p2a.co/6IjaZWT