I applaud Tulsa's efforts, the new center, and your decision to write about this! A few years ago, I produced a podcast series for Wondery's American History Tellers on the Tulsa Race Massacre. Doing that work was life-changing. I followed it with a TEDx talk about how life-changing it was and the importance of bringing oppressed history to light wherever and whenever possible. As your commenter Kimberlee Jakobe writes, "Greenwood...is American history—our history."
I grew up west of Atlanta, in a little town just miles from where MLK taught his famous sermons. History wasnt taught accurately --even then. I grew up ignorant and it was a struggle to learn truth as I grew.
History should be taught so we can grow in truth and heal our wounds--not cover them with scar tissue and lies.
Greenwood isn't only Black History, it's American history--our history.
Grew up in Indiana before moving to FL. Heard stories from my grandparents about how the Klan ruled the state with fear and intimidation in the 1920s. Was never taught in schools. One day as an undergrad at UF, a history professor teaching an advanced grad/undergrad class asked, “which state was entirely controlled by the Klan in the 1920s from governor through legislature?” I sat silently listening to answers from all states in the South...I raised my hand with an almost embarrassed look on my face saying, “Indiana, and here is what happened”. The prof just about fell over in stunned silence before telling the class that was correct. He then asked how I knew that. I responded about hearing the stories from my grandparents when I was young.
Moral of the story is history is not just passed down through schools, but in the oral history passed down from one generation to the next. I was fortunate my grandparents were clear eyed, and and not afraid to say things to us. We owe it to the next generations to tell our children the truth, no matter how ugly it is.
Grew up only a few miles from Greenwood. Heard nothing about it until college. Also missing from my education were the Osage Murders and the Washita Massacre.
Very white primary and secondary education.
Glad to hear of Tulsa's efforts to acknowledge what happened in Greenwood.
Now, to rename the Battle of Washita National Historic Site to what it really was, the Washita Massacre.
Thank you for making that walk to Greenwood, David, and for documenting what you saw there on a quiet Sunday. Your personal narrative helps illuminate this still-shocking, under-told story that all Americans need to hear and understand.
Great piece, David, thanks for highlighting this crucial piece of history, and the absolute necessity of Americans becoming far more aware of the crimes of humanity committed on fellow Americans: the Indigenous and Black populations by our forebears. As a teacher in the 70-80's who cared about this in my social studies class, it was hard to find such information. Keeping these accounts of inhumanity alive and making sure ALL of us know about them makes it much harder to justify, bury and obscure the true position of those persons now whose ancestors both suffered or alternately, benefitted from the death, destruction, and terror families suffered. The fact that political entities are allowed to exist that want to disappear these truths is only a prelude for "reconstructing" truth all together. Together with /Steve Bannon, Elon Musk and a host of racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic victims of "states rights" oversight of public schooling, these entities will then reopen-write the new "history" of the United States. All it takes is one generation-15 bad years, for it to become permanent. And it would require another civil war to reverse it, and many generations after that to re-build the dream of democracy.
Thank you for highlighting this important history. I was never taught about Greenwood and only learned of it in the last couple of years. We need to know our past.
I applaud Tulsa's efforts, the new center, and your decision to write about this! A few years ago, I produced a podcast series for Wondery's American History Tellers on the Tulsa Race Massacre. Doing that work was life-changing. I followed it with a TEDx talk about how life-changing it was and the importance of bringing oppressed history to light wherever and whenever possible. As your commenter Kimberlee Jakobe writes, "Greenwood...is American history—our history."
I grew up west of Atlanta, in a little town just miles from where MLK taught his famous sermons. History wasnt taught accurately --even then. I grew up ignorant and it was a struggle to learn truth as I grew.
History should be taught so we can grow in truth and heal our wounds--not cover them with scar tissue and lies.
Greenwood isn't only Black History, it's American history--our history.
Grew up in Indiana before moving to FL. Heard stories from my grandparents about how the Klan ruled the state with fear and intimidation in the 1920s. Was never taught in schools. One day as an undergrad at UF, a history professor teaching an advanced grad/undergrad class asked, “which state was entirely controlled by the Klan in the 1920s from governor through legislature?” I sat silently listening to answers from all states in the South...I raised my hand with an almost embarrassed look on my face saying, “Indiana, and here is what happened”. The prof just about fell over in stunned silence before telling the class that was correct. He then asked how I knew that. I responded about hearing the stories from my grandparents when I was young.
Moral of the story is history is not just passed down through schools, but in the oral history passed down from one generation to the next. I was fortunate my grandparents were clear eyed, and and not afraid to say things to us. We owe it to the next generations to tell our children the truth, no matter how ugly it is.
Grew up only a few miles from Greenwood. Heard nothing about it until college. Also missing from my education were the Osage Murders and the Washita Massacre.
Very white primary and secondary education.
Glad to hear of Tulsa's efforts to acknowledge what happened in Greenwood.
Now, to rename the Battle of Washita National Historic Site to what it really was, the Washita Massacre.
Thank you for making that walk to Greenwood, David, and for documenting what you saw there on a quiet Sunday. Your personal narrative helps illuminate this still-shocking, under-told story that all Americans need to hear and understand.
Great piece, David, thanks for highlighting this crucial piece of history, and the absolute necessity of Americans becoming far more aware of the crimes of humanity committed on fellow Americans: the Indigenous and Black populations by our forebears. As a teacher in the 70-80's who cared about this in my social studies class, it was hard to find such information. Keeping these accounts of inhumanity alive and making sure ALL of us know about them makes it much harder to justify, bury and obscure the true position of those persons now whose ancestors both suffered or alternately, benefitted from the death, destruction, and terror families suffered. The fact that political entities are allowed to exist that want to disappear these truths is only a prelude for "reconstructing" truth all together. Together with /Steve Bannon, Elon Musk and a host of racist, xenophobic and anti-Semitic victims of "states rights" oversight of public schooling, these entities will then reopen-write the new "history" of the United States. All it takes is one generation-15 bad years, for it to become permanent. And it would require another civil war to reverse it, and many generations after that to re-build the dream of democracy.
Amen.
Never learned about Greenwood. What else has been shoved under the carpets?
Thank you for highlighting this important history. I was never taught about Greenwood and only learned of it in the last couple of years. We need to know our past.
Sometimes progress comes in unusual packages! Good for them in Greenwood!
Thank you for posting this.