User:Kaelynkrandall/Tulsa race massacre

Survivors

The Tulsa Massacre claimed an estimated amount of 150-300 lives, however over 800 people were seriously injured and much more are estimated to have had their lives drastically changed forever.

Olivia Hooker

Olivia Hooker was born on February 12, 1951, in Muskogee Oklahoma. Her family was among one of the many families affected by the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 when she was only 6-years-old. Her family's home in the Greenwood District of Tulsa Oklahoma was broken into by a group of white men with torches and was torn apart. Many of her family's belongings were destroyed. One item that Hooker recalls is her sister's piano. She remembers hearing a group of white men wacking into her sister piano as she and her four other siblings hid under the dining room table which their mother covered with a tablecloth. Her father owned a store in Tulsa, Oklahoma where she recalls was absolutely destroyed and only one safe was left standing. The only reason it was left standing was because it was too big and heavy to be destroyed or stolen. Olivia Hooker also remembers vividly her schoolhouse being destroyed and blown up with dynamite. After this horrendous experience, Hooker and her family moved to Topeka, Kansas to rebuild their lives. Olivia recalls her mother telling her, “don’t spend your time agonizing on the past.” With a new fresh start in Topeka, Kansa, Olivia Hooker lived on to build an impressive life for herself. Hooker was the first African American to join the coast guard. She joined the coast guard in Febuary of 1945. [1] After leaving the Coast Guard, Dr. Hooker went on to earn her Master’s degree in psychology from Teacher's College, Columbia University. She earned her doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Rochester. Hooker went on to work multiple jobs with her degree in psychology, mostly basing her work off the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. Olivia Hooker retired from work at the age of 87. Dr. Olivia Hooker died at the age of 103 on November 21, 2018 peacefully in her home in New York, being the last survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre.

Eldoris McCondichie

Eldoris McCondichie was born on September 1, 1911, in Tyler, Texas. She was just 4 years old when she and her family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma in the Greenwood district. Her family was a part of the working class. Her father worked in a field and her mother did housework. On May 31, 1921, Eldoris was just 9 years old. She remembers being frantically awakened by her mother. She remembers clearly her mother saying, “the white people are killing the colored people.” Eldoris and her family evacuated their Tulsa home to refuge up North from the massacre. Eldoris described how “airplanes were raining down bullets.” No one had enough time to even put clothes on to evacuate their homes she described. Young Eldoris recalls seeing women walking on the railroad track with no shoes in their nightgowns. Eldoris also reclass finding shelter in a chicken coop during the riots to protect herself from the machine guns. After Eldoris and her family evacuated Tulsa, they found refuge in a farmer’s home overnight. After that, her family made the trip to Pawhuska, Oklahoma, which is about an hour drive from Oklahoma where they stayed for about 2-3 days until they knew it was safe to return back to their homes. After returning back to Tulsa, Oklahoma, Eldoris describes what was left of the Greenwood distract as “war-torn.” Many businesses and homes were burnt to the ground with no mercy she recalled. Her family slowly re-built their lives in Tulsa and never left referring to it as their “forever home.” Eldoris McCondichie went to live a beautiful life in Tulsa. She was married to Arthur McCodichie for 67 years and 4 children, 2 sons and 2 daughters. Eldoris McChondichie passed away peacefully on September 12, 2010, a couple of days after of celebrating her 99th birthday. Her final resting place is in the Crownhill Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

George Monroe

George Monroe was only 5 years old on the attack on the Greenwood district on May 31, 1921. He remembers very little due to his age, but he remembers enough. He claims some images could never leave his mind. He remembers seeing people getting shot and his own curtains being set on fire by a mob of white men. He also recalls hiding under a bed with his older sister, when a rioter stepped on his finger causing his sister to throw her hand over his mouth to prevent the men from hearing his screams. George Monroe lived out the rest of his life in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He became a musician, owner of a Tulsa nightclub, and the first black man in Tulsa to sell coca-cola. George Monroe passed away in 2001.

Lessie Benningfield "Mother Randle"

Mother Randle was born in Morris, Oklahoma on November 10, 1914, in Morris Oklahoma as Lessie Benningfield. Her two parents were farmers and she had 3 sisters and 1 brother. Mother Randle has a hard time recalling a lot due to her young age during the massacre, but she remembers traumatic bits and pieces from the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. Randle remembers a mob of white men barging into her home. She recalls them tearing up and destroying her family’s house right in front of her eyes. She has memories of the feelings of intense fear while trying to evacuate her home and get somewhere safe with her family. She spent the rest of her childhood and young adulthood in Tulsa and graduated from Booker T. Washington High School. Mother Randle is now a part of an active lawsuit with the Greenwood Advocates, which is a team of human and civil rights lawyers fighting for the justice of victims and their families still being affected by the massacre that took place nearly 100 years ago. Mother Randle claims she still has nightmares of seeing the piles of dead bodies she saw during the massacre. Mother Randle is still alive and has now reached the age of 106 years old. For her 106th birthday that took place last year, the community raised thousands of dollars for her a remodeled her home.

Hal Singer

Hal Singer was born on October 8, 1919 in Tulsa, Oklahoma to his two working-class parents. His mother worked in wealthy white residents home as a cook and his father worked to produce oil rigging tools. Hal Singer was only 18-months-old whenever the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 took place. A white woman, who his mother worked for, put his family on a train to Kansas City during the massacre so the Singer family would have a safe place to wait it out at. Hal Singer up to the day of his passing recalled how forever grateful he would be for the women’s kindness. Whenever his family returned back to their home, it was burnt to the ground. They had to rebuild their whole lives again from scratch. However, they stayed in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the Greenwood district all through Hal’s childhood. As a young boy, Hal would hang out by the rail tracks and invite jazz bands to come over and have some of his mother’s cooking. This would definitely help him in the long run as he would become an iconic saxophonist of his generation. Hal Singer would go on to play with/for Duke Ellington, Ray Charles, amd Billie Holiday. Hal Singer was married for over 50 years to his wife Arlette Singer. Hal Singer was the last male survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre. On August 18, 2020, just months before his 101st birthday Hal Singer died peacefully surrounded by family at the age of 100 years old in Chatou, which is a suburb of Paris, France.

Essie Lee Johnson Beck

Essie Johnson was just 5 years old whenever the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 took place. Her family evacuated their Tulsa home in their early hours of May 31. Essie remembers her parents making her and her siblings stay away from the windows because there were active shooters targeting windows of homes. She describes the feelings of fright and confusion. Her family had to evacuate their home since almost all homes were being burnt to the ground in her neighborhood. Her mother took Essie and her 4 other siblings and started running to find shelter elsewhere. Essie recalls watching airplanes above her dropping unidentified things onto the roof of houses causing the to catch on fire. Her mother was trying to get her and her siblings to Golden Greek Park. Essie’s father stayed behind to help as much as possible and to assist injured people. Essie recalls once they got the Golden Green Park, they hid behind trees. Essie and her family soon after that found shelter in churches and school basements for the remaining days. Once they were cleared to go back, their home was burnt to the ground. Essie recalls having to live in a tent on the dirt waiting for their house to be rebuilt. She describes the whole experience to be awful.

Vernice Simms

Vernice Simms was just 17 years old when the riot took place. She lived in the Greenwood district with her family as she attended Booker T. Washington High School, where she was preparing for her prom. Vernice remembers vividly being in her backyard when bullets started raining down and her down cautioned everyone to get into the house as quickly as possible. As the riots and massacred progressed, Vernice and her family found refuge at a white family’s home, where they were safe from the massacre. Whenever they returned to their Greenwood home, everything was burnt to the ground. Vernice and her family had to live in a tent. Vernice recalls Booker T. Washington High School being turned into a hospital for the wounded. Vernice volunteered at the hospital where she fed and gave water to people that were injured during the massacre. While her house was being rebuilt by her father, Vernice went to go finish her high school at a school in Oklahoma City. After, Vernice studied at Langston University. After she graduated from University, she came home to see her house finally rebuilt. She recalls never getting any money from insurance or the government to help. Vernice overall describes the events as devastating and scary.

Tulsa Historical Society & Museum

Tulsa Race Massacre: Traveling Panels

The Tulsa Historical Society and Museum offer a virtual exhibit of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 that is open all times during the day and is free of charge to the public. This online exihibt offers many photos, audios, documents, and resources that cannot be found anywhere else except the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum virtual exhibit. The Tulsa Historical Society and Museum also offer a traveling exhibit. The traveling exihibit consists of 4 panels regarding the Tulsa Race Massacre that are allowed to travel to locations within the Tulsa Metro Area. The main goal of the panels is to educate the community.

Present Day Black Wall Street

A drive through present day Greenwood District. (March 2021)

Black Wall Street can still be found today under the Historical Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, it only took about 10 years to build the district back to what it once was. The historical Vernon AME Church is the only building standing today that is apart of the last remaining structure of the 1921 Race Massacre. The Greenwood districts tries to keep the memory of the Tulsa Race Massacre prominent within the community. Many memorials stand today to respect and remember what once was Black Wall Street. Many investigation are still be undergone in the Greenwood District to find more unmarked graves to identify more victims of the Massacre.