Summary: Using the book The Ground Breaking, your lectures, and the textbook, in a 5-7 page, double spaced, 12 font, standard margins, paper, answer the following questions about the Tulsa Race Massacre and the decades-long attempts to suppress the full story (answer these questions in the form of an essay—not each one individually). The Tulsa Massacre occurred in 1921. Beyond white anger over the alleged incident that led to the arrest of Dick Rowland, what were the real reasons for the attacks on Greenwood? (racism is obviously a huge part of it, but please discuss this question at some length) Who do you believe were most responsible in the white community? What did the success of Greenwood represent to the white community? The massacre was covered up for more than fifty years through the destruction of paperwork, news articles, and written evidence, as well as the suppression of speech about the massacre. What are the lasting impacts of having this history purposefully erased. What about American society today makes the story of the race massacre and its 50-year cover-up, both surprising, and unsurprising?
What can the Tulsa race massacre and the ongoing investigation teach us about racism in America? What can it teach us about reconciliation? Do the living survivors, the families of deceased survivors, or Greenwood itself, deserve reparations for what happened in 1921? What effects could reparations have? According to author Scott Ellsworth, “we are living in what I call the Age of Reevaluation. Old historical truths are being challenged…while new ones are rising to take their place.” What do you think that means. Why is reckoning with difficult pieces of our past necessary today? Please use significant quotes from The Ground Breaking, concentrating significantly on quotes from the people who either survived the race massacre, or who were involved in the attempts to uncover evidence in the various investigations. You should also quote from either the textbook or lectures.
