Federal officials said Saturday they cannot prosecute any person or government agency involved in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre — but that doesn’t mean there aren’t other questions to be answered.
Members of the United States Department of Justice held a community meeting Saturday at historic Vernon AME Church in Greenwood to discuss the findings of the department’s first extensive review of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said the group of attackers numbering as many 10,000 white Tulsans was “far too organized to be called a mob.” They destroyed more than 1,000 homes and killed up to 300 people in the prosperous Black neighborhood of Greenwood. “Credible reports” exist that members of law enforcement participated in the “murder, arson and looting” of the neighborhood as part of the “coordinated, military-style attack.”
Clarke said if today’s laws had been on the books, federal prosecutors could have pursued hate crime charges against the perpetrators of the massacre. She also said modern interpretations of civil rights laws could have been used to indict police officers and public officials involved in the event.
“Few of these legal avenues were available in 1921, and any that existed were not pursued,” she said.
Clarke said that while prosecution isn’t an option today, the review is still important because the DOJ now fully acknowledges the massacre.
But city councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper, who represents Greenwood, wasn’t satisfied with the outcome.
“This is how the United States of America handles these types of situations when we’re talking about justice for Africans in America. The reality is, we have procrastinated as a nation in addressing these wrongs, these ills, these injustices, and now it’s too late to do anything about it,” Hall-Harper said.
Massacre descendant Kristi Williams said the report needs to be used to bring justice to the community.
“If we read that report and do absolutely nothing, we’re doing the same thing,” Williams said. “It’s the same spirit that kept this going, and we’re going to keep all this going for another generation.”
Avenues outside prosecution
Clarke and other public officials answered and attempted to answer several questions outside the scope of prosecution. Here are key takeaways from the community discussion:
- The DOJ report does not intend to impede any civil litigation. Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons, who represents the two living survivors in their legal battle for reparations, says he and his team plan to review the report.
- Clarke says Tulsa police cooperated with the report. Furthermore, Police Chief Dennis Larsen said he’d welcome meetings to address historical grievances related to the massacre.
- The DOJ spoke to descendants of victims — and perpetrators — for the report. Nonprofit Justice for Greenwood arranged for descendants of survivors to give DOJ investigators a tour of the massacre site. Other descendants either reportedly reached out or were referred to the DOJ by family or friends. Investigators spoke to two people related to alleged perpetrators but did not reveal their identities.
- Findings could be used in Beyond Apology Commission work. The commission was established in August 2024 to explore ways the city could give reparations to survivors of massacre descendants and north Tulsans generally.
KWGS reporter Ben Abrams contributed to this report.
