"A Story of both Tragedy and Resilience - Remembering the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre"

This exhibition, put together by MA LA English and LiWi students, commemorates the racially motivated terrorist attack on the so-called "Black Wall Street" in Tulsa in 1921. On May 31, 105 years ago, one of the greatest tragedies in Oklahoma history was triggered by an alleged assault by African-American shoeshine boy Dick Rowland on elevator passenger Sarah Page. Fueled by an inflammatory media campaign and widespread lynching, 18 hours of terror followed against the Greenwood neighborhood. More than a thousand homes and businesses were burned to the ground, and several hundred African Americans lost their lives. Immediately after the attack, the city was under martial law, administered by the National Guard. This bloody attack is considered the worst single incident of racial violence in the history of the United States and haunts Oklahoma residents to this day.

One of several similar incidents across the country, the outbreak occurred during a time of acute racial tension, culminating in the so-called "Red Summer" of 1919. The formation and rapid growth of a new Ku Klux Klan fueled racist violence against African Americans. These trends were reflected throughout the state as well as in Tulsa.

105 years later, the exhibition "A Story of both Tragedy and Resilience - Remembering the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre" sheds light on the events and their consequences, the role of racism, media agitation and state failure. It invites visitors to reflect on historical responsibility and resilience.

The exhibition was created as part of the Master's course "Institutions and Practices of Racism in the US: Tulsa's Red Summer of 1921" (WiSe 2025/26).

The exhibition will be on display from January 28 - February 28, 2026 in the Main Library (AR) during regular opening hours

Monday to Friday from 09:00 - 20:00, Saturday from 10:00 - 18:00.