Frisco RR Tracks

"Outnumbered more than twenty to one, the black men quickly began retreating toward the African American district. With armed whites in close pursuit, heavy gunfire erupted along Fourth Street. A second—and deadlier—skirmish broke out at Second and Cincinnati, before the black men, their numbers seriously reduced, were able to head north across the Frisco tracks. No longer directly involved with the fate of Dick Rowland, the men were now fighting for their own lives. Meanwhile, at the courthouse, the sudden and unexpected turn of events had an electrifying effect, as groups of angry, vengeance-seeking whites took to the streets and sidewalks of downtown. At Police Headquarters on Second Street, nearly five hundred white men and boys— many of whom, only minutes earlier, had been members of the lynch mob—were sworn in as “Special Deputies.” According to Laurel G. Buck, a white bricklayer who was sworn in, the police instructed the new recruits to “Get a gun, and get a nigger.” Shortly thereafter, whites began breaking into downtown pawnshops and hardware stores, stealing guns and ammunition. Dick Bardon’s sporting goods store, at First and Main, was especially hard hit, as was J. W. Megee’s shop, located across the street from Police Headquarters. Eyewitnesses later testified that uniformed Tulsa policemen took part in some of the break-ins, handing out guns to whites...While darkness slowed the pace of the riot, sporadic fighting took place throughout the night of May 31 and June 1. The heaviest occurred along the Frisco tracks. From midnight until 1:30 a.m., scores—perhaps hundreds—of whites and blacks exchanged gunfire across the tracks. At one point during the fighting, an inbound train arrived, its passengers forced to take cover on the floor." Hill, K 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre (pg 264-265)

“Train from Oklahoma city to Muskogee was stopped at the Katy Station about 10:45, May 31st, and was held until about 6:00 am, June 1st. Negroes were retreating from the south past the station. Armed white mob pursuing contained a large number of teenagers, women and men, many under the influence of whiskey, who were out of control and wildly shooting. The mob boarded the train and removed all Negroes from the segregated cars. Blacks trying to surrender and those in the streets were randomly killed” (Muskogee Democrat, 6-2-21, pg.10, as cited in O’Brien, W.M. Who speaks for us?)