The Tulsa Race Massacre was one of the most horrific events in U.S. history.  Was it just a riot by an angry white mob - or an all-out war on Black Americans by their own government? Join us for the real story on what went down in 1921. Special guest: Kristi Williams, Tulsa activist and descendant of a massacre survivor.


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Guest: Kristi Williams

Kristi is a Tulsa-based activist, organizer, and “love advocate.” She chairs the Greater Tulsa African American Affairs Commission and serves on the 1921 Mass Graves Investigation Committee. Kristi also is the descendant of a survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre.

Highlights of episode:

[3:14]  Backdrop to the story: Oklahoma and Greenwood

[5:54]  Tony & Adam lay out the events of 1921

[12:26]  Firsthand accounts of the massacre from The Nation Must Awake

[14:32] Kristi Williams on her aunt’s experience in the massacre

[17:14]  Eric Miller on the government role, and the real motives for the massacre

[22:04]  Kristi on the real motives, and the legacy of Greenwood

[25:53]  Tony & Adam on Greenwood as a symbol of Black excellence and the effects of Jim Crow

More about the Tulsa Race Massacre:

• The Nation Must Awake: My Witness to the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921  - A riveting firsthand account by Tulsa resident and journalist Mary Parrish.
• Reconstructing the Dreamland: The Tulsa Riot of 1921 (Race, Reparations, and Reconciliation)  - A history of the massacre with a focus on reparations, by Alfred Brophy.

Groups fighting for change in Tulsa:

• Justice For Greenwood:  Founded by Damario Solomon-Simmons, lead attorney for the Tulsa lawsuit and hero for civil rights in Oklahoma, this group is fighting for reparations for the massacre.
• Terence Crutcher Foundation:  Based in Tulsa, they are working to end racial violence, especially by police against Black people.

Contact Tony & Adam

Transcript of this episode

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