Long after the smoldering remains from the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot cooled, a veil of secrecy hung over the tragedy for generations. The event was omitted from U.S. and Oklahoma history books, but the terror remained alive in the minds of those who lived through the torment.
Take a deeper look at the events during “Stand Against Racism: 1921 Tulsa in Flames” April 25, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. at Rudisill Regional Library, 1520 N. Hartford. The program features volunteers wearing period clothing who will read excerpts from “Events of the Tulsa Disaster,” spoken word and photographs from the destruction of June 1, 1921.
“Events of the Tulsa Disaster” is a chronicle of the aftermath by Mary E. Jones Parrish. Her first-hand account was published in 1923 and is filled with stories from multiple sources sharing their perspectives.
In 2010, Parrish’s out-of-print book was reprinted by John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation with funding from Anne and Henry Zarrow Family Foundation, the Maxine and Jack Zarrow Foundation and the Oklahoma Humanities Council. Copies were donated to Tulsa Community College, Tulsa Public Schools and the Tulsa City-County Library.
The program is sponsored by the African-American Resource Center and North Tulsa Historical Society in conjunction with the YMCA’s Stand Against Racism.
For more information on “Stand Against Racism: 1921 Tulsa in Flames” or other library programming, call the AskUs Hotline, 918-549-7323, or visit the library’s website, www.tulsalibrary.org.
# # #