Statement by President Joe Biden on the 101st Anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre
Last year, on this day, I traveled to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to tell a story that for too long was shrouded in silence in our history books. I had the honor of meeting with Mother Randle, Mother Fletcher, and Mr. Van Ellis, who were all just children 101 years ago when their thriving neighborhood of Greenwood was raided, firebombed, and destroyed by a violent white supremacist mob. Today, we remember the hell that was unleashed that night. This was not a riot, it was a massacre. As many as 300 Black Americans were killed, and nearly 10,000 were left destitute. Homes, businesses, and churches were burned. A generation of Black wealth was extinguished. In the years that followed, even as Greenwood worked to rebuild, discrimination was systematically embedded in our laws and policies, locking Black residents out of opportunity and ensuring that the attack on Black families and Black wealth persisted across generations. I went to Greenwood—the first President to visit since the mass...