Biden visits Tulsa 100 years on - 9th June 2021

President Biden has been to an event in Oklahoma to remember the Tulsa massacre 100 years ago. Many Black people died and a successful Black community was destroyed.

President Biden: “My fellow Americans, this was not a riot. This was a massacre.”

Around 300 African Americans were killed and more than 10,000 lost their homes in the massacre. But this was never taught. People from Tulsa want the silence to end.

Barbara Tottress: "This has been hidden for so long. This has been hidden. It was not taught in our schools."

Beverly Smith: "It's really wild. It should be in textbooks. It should be everywhere. People need to know about this. I mean, why keep it a secret?"

The attack took place on 31st May 1921. It began when a young Black man was arrested. Hundreds of angry white people were waiting at the courthouse. The Black community worried about the young man's safety. They went to the courthouse to protect him.

People started shooting. The African Americans escaped to Greenwood, the wealthy Black part of Tulsa. The attackers burned the whole area.

President Biden thinks Americans should know their history.

President Biden: “For much too long, the history of what took place here was told in silence – cloaked in darkness. But just because history is silent, it doesn't mean that it did not take place."

The White House has promised to help Black businesses financially and to create opportunities to buy homes. It hopes to make life more equal. But some are tired of words.

Anthony Hutton: "And, you know, again, looking for a lot more than rhetoric and gestures. You know, we're looking for results, you know. We're looking for, you know, opportunity, economic opportunity. The same opportunity they had, you know, elsewhere all around town."

In 2001, there was an investigation into the Tulsa massacre. It recommended giving money to people who were affected, but nothing happened.