Tour - 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Events Educator Tour

1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Events Educator Tour

Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103, United States

Created By: Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission

Tour Information

This is a virtual walking tour of the 1921 Race Massacre designed to support educators in teaching the massacre offered to you by the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission

One of the worst race massacres in the nation’s history occurred in Tulsa over a 14-hour period May 31-June 1, 1921.

Hundreds of people were killed, hundreds were injured and 10,000 black Tulsans were left homeless.35 Square blocks of Greenwood and a thriving Black Wall Street were destroyed. Although the massacre itself lasted only a few hours, its repercussions are still felt today.

Tour Map

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What You'll See on the Tour

The Drexel Building 319 S. Main

Located at 319 S. Main, the Drexel Building once housed the local clothiers Renberg’s. The Drexel Building was four stories tall. Renberg’s Department Store occupied the first two floors, with offices and small businesses upstairs. The ... Read more

Tulsa Tribune Building

"The Tulsa Tribune decided otherwise. The next day, the afternoon newspaper ran an inflammatory front-page article claiming that Rowland had attempted to rape Page. More ominously, in a now lost editorial, the paper may have claimed that Ro... Read more

Tulsa County Courthouse Circa 1921

In 1910, Tulsa County built a courthouse in Tulsa on the northeast corner of Sixth Street and South Boulder Avenue. Yule marble was used in its construction. The land had previously been the site of a mansion owned by George Perryman and hi... Read more

National Guard Armory

"The arrival of the black men at the courthouse electrified the white mob, now more than a thousand strong. Whites without guns went home to retrieve them. One group of whites tried to break into the National Guard Armory, in order to gain ... Read more

Tulsa Police Station Location Circa 1921

"By half-past nine o’clock on Tuesday evening, the white mob outside the county courthouse had swollen to nearly two thousand persons. They blocked the sidewalks and the streets, and spilled over onto the front yards of nearby residences.... Read more

Greenwood - Tulsa Daily Star Building 501 N. Greenwood

Perhaps nowhere else in America is there a single thoroughfare which registers such significance to the African-American diaspora as Greenwood Ave, “Black Wall Street” known for its prominence and progress during the early 20th century.... Read more

6th and Main -Confrontation and The Beginnings of a Massacre

"A little after 10:00 p.m., when a rumor began to circulate that the white mob was storming the courthouse, a second contingent of armed African American men, perhaps seventy-five in number, set out for downtown by automobile. Near Sixth an... Read more

Dreamland Theatre 127 N. Greenwood Ave.

127 N Greenwood Ave, Tulsa, OK Destroyed 1921, rebuilt 192? The 750-seat Williams Dreamland Theater was one of several businesses owned and operated by John and Loula Williams. Other enterprises included a rooming house, a confectionery, an... Read more

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 a... Read more

Residential Homes Looted and Burned

"By 1:00 a.m., whites also had set the first fires in black neighborhoods. African American homes and businesses along Archer were the first targets, and when a crew from the Tulsa Fire Department prepared to douse the flames, rioters waved... Read more

Standpipe HIll

"Even though it was after 10:00 P.M. when the riot broke out, news of the fighting spread quickly—and unevenly—across Tulsa. In the city’s African American neighborhoods, word of what had happened at the courthouse was followed by eve... Read more

2nd/Lewis Gathering for Early A.M. invasion of Greenwood

"White neighborhoods were also the scenes of much activity. As word of what whites began calling the “negro uprising” spread across town, crowds of armed whites began to gather at hastily arranged meeting places. When one such crowd, pe... Read more

Katy Passenger Depot

May 31, to June 1, 1921 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. "Any hope that daybreak would bring an end to the violence was soon laid to rest. During the final pre-dawn hours of June 1, thousands of armed whites had gathered along the fringes of downtow... Read more

Sunset Hill

June 1, 1921 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Despite a valiant effort, black Tulsans were simply outgunned and outnumbered. As the whites moved north, they set fire to practically every building in the African American community, including a dozen c... Read more

Mt. Zion Baptist Church

Mt. Zion Baptist Church was founded in 1909 under the leadership of Rev. Sandy Lyons. The original site of the church was a one-room framed schoolhouse. Mt. Zion had just opened its new church and held its first service on April 4, 1921. Be... Read more

Vernon A.M.E.

IN 1908 THE TRUSTEES PURCHASED the present site, 307 N. Greenwood Avenue, for $290.00, with a down payment of $100.00. By this time, many members were added. The congregation voted to change the name from “Burton Chapel” to “Vernon,�... Read more

Convention Hall

After Arrival of State troops, final fighting and martial law, "Yet even with an end to the violence, for black Tulsans, a whole new set of ordeals had just begun. Thousands had fled to the country, hiding in the woods, while hundreds more ... Read more

Fairgrounds

Internment site for those who were displaced during the massacre.

Former Site of Booker T. Washington High School

Used as a make shift Hospital after the Massacre. Booker T. Washington High School was founded in Tulsa in 1913, with a class of 14 students and a staff of two teachers. The principal was Ellis Walker Woods, a native of Louisville, Missi... Read more

Greenwood Cultural Center

A tour of historic Greenwood must begin at the Greenwood Cultural Center. The building’s most valuable contribution is an impressive collection of historic black and white photos of the survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, newspaper arti... Read more

Mabel B. Little Heritage House

The historical home of Sam and Lucy Mackey is our only example of the homes that were rebuilt after the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot/Massacre. The Mackeys made their living doing domestic work and yard work for prominent white Tulsans. Their first ... Read more

John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park

Take A Virtual Tour Reconciliation Park is the long-awaited result of the 2001 Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. It memorializes the Tulsa Race Riot, called the worst civic disturbance in American history. The Park... Read more

Ellis Walker Woods Memorial

The Ellis Walker Woods Memorial honors the first principal of Tulsa's Booker T. Washington High School. A labor of love for more than 30 years, the conception, fundraising, and construction of the memorial was guided by a dedicated committe... Read more

Greenwood Rising

Greenwood Rising is the specific story of the dignity of a people who turned trials, tribulations, and tragedy into a triumph of the human spirit. Meet the people behind Greenwood’s early success, exploring personal stories of entrepreneu... Read more