DETROIT – “It’s one of the darkest chapters of American history,” said Democratic Michigan Congresswoman Brenda Lawrence.
That’s how Lawrence described the Tulsa Race Massacre during a Zoom call with the Congressional Black Caucus.
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It happened May 31, 1921. It was during that time, when a well affluent Black community, known as the Black Wall Street or the Greenwood District was burned to the ground.
“The families were on target to create generational wealth. It was snatched from them, from an act of violence and racism,” said Lawrence.
History leaders say a white mob set the area on fire. It burned hundreds of homes and businesses and killed dozens of Black people.
“Yet it is largely absent from many of our history books. It’s a story that is left untold,” said Lawrence.
On Tuesday, Lawrence along with many lawmakers and President Joe Biden went to Tulsa to meet with those survivors.
“Walking these historic streets and being at the Greenwood Cultural Center that serves as a monument to that horrific event, I’m reminded of the strength of our Black communities,” said Lawrence.
A strength that for years many ignored. That’s why Lawrence said it’s now time to give these survivors and their families what they deserve.
“The HR-3466, The Tulsa Greenwood Massacre Claims Accountability Act, which would provide victims of the 1921 Massacre, the Survivors and their descendants access to the courts that they have thus far been denied,” said Lawrence.