TEN BLOCKS BURNED & 85 KILLED IN OKLAHOMA RACE RIOTS
Tulsa, Oklahoma (JFK+50) On June 1, 1921, race riots broke out here in Tulsa resulting in the deaths of 85 persons including 25 whites. There were also "scores" of injuries reported in the rioting.
The New York Tribune reports that "ten blocks of homes in the negro quarters were destroyed." Four companies of National Guard under Adj. General Charles Barrett* were sent in with an outbreak of fighting along North Greenwood Avenue.
Two thousand armed white men fought against an unknown number of black men during the riots.
*Adjutant General Charles F. Barrett (1861-1946) was born in Ohio, raised in Kansas & came to Oklahoma City as managing editor of the Press-Gazette. CFB served as a captain in the Spanish-American War.
SOURCES
"Barrett, Charles F.," Oklahoma Hall of Fame, Gaylord Pickens Museum, www.oklahomahof.com/
"85 Killed in Race Riots at Tulsa; Ten Blocks Are Burned Despite Martial Law," The New York Tribune, June 2, 1921, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
