One hundred years ago today, a young, Black man by the name of Dick Rowland was wrongfully arrested after accidentally bumping into a young, white woman in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In the hours that followed his arrest, a white mob clashed with a group of Black residents looking to protect Rowland from being lynched. Instead of lynching Rowland, the residents burned down hundreds of homes businesses. In the end, more than 100 people died and more than 1,200 people were left homeless. This tragic event that is often left out of history textbooks is commonly known as the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Sadly, it is not the only massacre of its kind during the early 20th century.
A number of vigils, marches, conferences and gatherings were planned to commemorate the tragedy that took place in Tulsa. Adding his thoughts to the conversation, President Joe Biden proclaimed a day of remembrance in honor of those who were murdered, lost their homes or lived through the massacre.
"The federal government must reckon with and acknowledge the role that it has played in stripping wealth and opportunity from Black communities," the proclamation reads.
"The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to acknowledging the role Federal policy played in Greenwood and other Black communities and addressing longstanding racial inequities through historic investments in the economic security of children and families, programs to provide capital for small businesses in economically disadvantaged areas, including minority-owned businesses, and ensuring that infrastructure projects increase opportunity, advance racial equity and environmental justice, and promote affordable access."
Biden also recognized a number of the survivors in his proclamation. He stated that he would honor them by "reaffirming" the nation's "commitment to advance racial justice."
"With this proclamation, I commit to the survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, including Viola Fletcher, Hughes Van Ellis, and Lessie Benningfield Randle, the descendants of victims, and to this Nation that we will never forget," he continued.
"We honor the legacy of the Greenwood community, and of Black Wall Street, by reaffirming our commitment to advance racial justice through the whole of our government, and working to root out systemic racism from our laws, our policies, and our hearts."
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