European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 17, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The night Tulsa turned into death Long before  Ron Jensen staff writer _ the recent riots in los Angeles sent reporters and commentators scurrying through history books to find a comparison. Most went All the Way Back to the civil War and the unrest that accompanied the military draft. They  have gone so far. About Halfway Between the recent riots in . And those of Lincoln a Era was a race riot of horrific proportions similar to our most recent National disgrace. It happened in Tulsa okla., in the Early morning of june 1,1921. By the time the Sun set that Day Black Tulsa one of americans most progressive and successful Black communities was a soldering scene of devastation. Perhaps As Many As 300 people died in the fighting that went House to House much like the City Street fighting of world War ii. Nonetheless it remains an event not Only impressive for its horror but for its invisibility. It came to my attention Only when i landed a Job at the Tulsa Tribune in 1984, a newspaper that was largely responsible for the riot. The riot was the subject of a 1982 Book by Scott Ellsworth called death in a promised land. It began this Way. Dick Rowland was a 19-year-old Boot Lack in a downtown Shine parlor one of the few jobs available for Blacks in the City a main business District. Since the parlor had no toilet facilities he used one at the top of a nearby building the closest one open to Blacks. On May 30,1921, Rowland stepped onto the elevator that would take him to the top floor. Sara Page 17, the White elevator operator claimed Rowland attacked her. Rowland was arrested the next Day. In a City in which racial relations already were resting uneasily the incident raised fears. Those fears heightened when the Tribune ran this headline on May 31 a to Lynch negro  there was no evidence to support the claim. Blacks angry about the possibility of a Lynching visited the courthouse in Large numbers late that evening. So did Many Whites who anticipated an attempt to break Rowland from his cell. Gunfire broke the nighttime Calm. The Blacks retreated to their neighbourhood North of the St. Louis and san Francisco railway tracks. It became a Nightmare. Armed Whites invaded the neighbourhood known As Greenwood for the Street along which Black businesses had grown and prospered in the previous decade. They were Able to push the Blacks from the Homes Block by Block looting and setting ablaze the Homes As the occupants abandoned them. The Blacks were outnumbered and the police were Busy elsewhere disarming and arresting Blacks. The looting and killing went on past Dawn. An elderly Black couple were murdered on their Way Home from Church. Or. . Jackson called by the Mayo Brothers a the most Able negro surgeon in America a was murdered after surrendering to a group of Whites. The National guard arrived about 11 30 a.m., arresting and disarming Blacks and sending Home White rioters. Martial Law was declared. Red Cross records show that 1,115 residences were destroyed in the rioting. Another 314 Homes in Black Tulsa were looted but not burned. For years afterwards Black citizens would see White tul sans wearing jewelry or clothing that had been taken from their Homes during the looting.  Tutti Cwm by of co Morco at least one Black was killed by Whites during the internment process at Tulsa s convention Hall. Metropolitan Tulton Chombor of Commerce Homes of Black tul sans go up in flames ignited by White rioters. Metropolitan Tulton chamber of Commerce victim of the Tulsa wipe out of june 1,1921. The Brick shells of Tulsa a Black business District loom behind the remains of Black Homes. How Many were killed Ellsworth Points out that the exact figure is probably forever lost. Some records put the figure at 35 or so. Others claim it was As High As 300. Most estimates say the dead numbered More than 100, both Black and White. Some eyewitnesses claimed they saw Black corpses piled into trucks and driven out of town. Others said they saw Black bodies dumped into the Arkansas River that flows past the City. Although the riot was reported in major newspapers in Chicago and new York it has largely been forgotten. That will not happen with the los Angeles riots. The mass Media has advanced so far in the past seven decades that images from . Will remain with us forever. No White person Ever served prison time for the uniting burning and killing that took place in Tulsa on that june 1 morning 71 years ago. And Sara Page declined to press charges against Dick Rowland. May 17, 1992 sunday a Page