Why the Tulsa Race Massacre should never be Forgotten: The Stance from a Black Educator.

 As a Black woman in today's society, I am more than aware that the fight for racial justice is far from gone. Not only do I live it everyday because of the color of my skin, but the media is flooded with gruesome images of modern day slavery still showing its ugly face. This fight is nowhere near done, and I would even go further by saying it is just truly beginning due to technology and social media showing the same injustices that have been going on for decades. The only difference now is simply that social media and technology has just given it a platform for the entire world to see. The raw truth is simply that White people can no longer turn a blind eye to it, because well it is right in their face now. 

When I look in the mirror at myself, I see more than a Black women in today's society. I also see a Black educator who must not stay silent about the past trauma that my Black brothers and sisters faced. Many White people would make the argument that "I wasn't a slave owner, nor did I dehumanize Black people, so why should I have to acknowledge it at all?" I am not here to argue why they should care. I am simply here to clearly take a stand in saying that as a Black educator, I must teach my Black children why their history is important, why we must not forget about it, and how we must move forward with pride and integrity after learning about these disheartening events.

Even though history has repeated itself and it can be very disheartening, I still want my students to know that Black people have done many phenomenal things, and should be acknowledged for their greatness. The story may have ended ugly, but there was great work done in the other parts of the story before the ending. Since I want my Black students to be empowered, and feel the strength running through their veins, it is pivotal that we must never forget about the Tulsa Race Massacre aka Black Wall Street, and even more importantly, it is crucial that it be taught in American History class. 

The Tulsa Race Massacre occurred in May of 1921, and was a huge devastation for the successful Black community during that time. In Tulsa Oklahoma in the neighborhood of Greenwood, there were about 10,000 Black people who had created a community that was owned by Black people for Black people. They had their own places to work, places to live, places to learn, shop, worship, and most importantly there were many successful Black businesses. This was the closest thing to a Black utopia, and it was created due to the oppression that Black people were facing during the time period. After saying enough is enough, they decided to build up a community where they could be accepted, celebrated, and most importantly where generational wealth for Black people could begin, and be passed down for the future generations to come. 

Unfortunately, these moments of bliss did not last long due to a 19 year old Black boy named Dick Rowland being accused of assaulting a White girl. To this very day, it has been said that there is little to no evidence that this ever happened, and the same storyline would continue only decades later with Emmett Till. History truly does repeat itself when it comes to White people using every excuse to dehumanize a Black person. When Black veterans from Greenwood decided to go to the courthouse to fight for Dick Rowland to not be lynched, the White people of that time went up in a uproar, and ultimately destroyed the Black Wall Street in a matter of 24 hours. 

This story gives another situation throughout American History where something was taken and stolen from a Black community. Some may disagree, but the story remains the same. White people are better off today in American society due to the generational wealth that was accrued throughout slavery, and then continued on for decades and decades to come. If Black Wall Street was not destroyed and still thriving today, can you imagine the generational wealth that would have occurred by now? Not to mention how they may have outsourced and created even more generational wealth for more and more Black people to come. 

As a Black educator my thoughts are simply this. Stop white-washing the curriculums, stop hiding the story of Black Wall Street, and stop teaching our Black kids about White outdated men who mainly had a platform for their successes by a Black person that did the work, but the credit was never given to them. If the education system is comfortable with teaching about slavery, then they should also be comfortable with teaching about the successes on behalf of Black people as well.