By Drs. Alicia Odewale, University of Tulsa & Dr. Karla Slocum, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Tulsa Syllabus permits users to become better informed not only about what happened in Greenwood in 1921, but also about the many contexts that shaped the community before and after this horrific event. The varied sources on the #TulsaSyllabus, which is organized thematically, are not exhaustive. The syllabus also offers commentary on both past and present-day race relations in Tulsa and the larger state of Oklahoma from statehood in 1907 to now.
Resources from Oklahoma State University
RUTH SIGLER AVERY COLLECTION, OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY (OSU-TULSA)
The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 Collection documents the history of the Massacre through photographs of the Ruth Sigler Avery Collection housed at the Oklahoma State University-Tulsa Library.
CINDERS IN THE SKY: THE LEGACY OF THE TULSA RACE MASSACRE
This exhibit is designed to explore and ruminate on the legacy of Greenwood before and after this crisis. It examines what the district looked like before it was destroyed with reflections from those who lived through the massacre. It includes a discussion on the language of how to frame this event and resources to help Greenwood.
During Vernon AME Church’s restoration efforts in 2020-2021, OSU Public History graduate students researched the names and organizations on Vernon’s stained-glass windows. They learned a great deal about the strength, resilience, and powerful legacy of women in Greenwood.Download
MAPPING GREENWOOD: COMMEMORATING THE TULSA RACE MASSACRE AND THE RESILIENCY OF GREENWOOD
This map shows the homes and businesses of Greenwood’s most prominent citizens. It was developed by students at Tulsa Community College and Tulsa Public School and completed in support of The John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation.
The Gateway is an online repository of Oklahoma history by the Oklahoma Historical Society. Visitors can search and view historic thousands of newspapers, photographs, maps, and documents.
The UNIVERSITY OF TULSA, TULSA RACE RIOT OF 1921 ARCHIVE, 1920-2007
The materials within the collection are predominantly the research materials and notes from various researchers. They include photographs, photocopies of the local press coverage, articles and essays on the subject, an annotated map, a video recording, and pictures of the Massacre and its aftermath. Also included is a video recording of the Weller Grossman production of “In Search of History: The Night Tulsa Burned,” which aired on cable television’s History Channel. In addition, 14 audiocassette recordings are consisting of 13 interviews conducted by Scott Ellsworth (author of Death in a Promised Land: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921) with witnesses to the riot. There is also a copy of The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 by I. Marc Carlson, photocopies of journal articles from 1921 and after, and other research materials. Another addition to the collection is one cassette tape of a talk with extensive audience discussion, given October 18, 1989, at the Allen Chapman Activity Center by Wilhemina Howell and Mabel Little, two women who lived through the massacre.
OKLAHOMA STATE ARCHIVES, TULSA RACE MASSACRE COLLECTION
Housed in the Oklahoma State Archives, this digital collection features 1, 327 documents and images from various state government agencies, such as the Governor’s office and the attorney general’s office, regarding the investigation into the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. The collection includes, for example, eyewitness testimony, letters and telegrams, and police reports.
DATABASE OF GREENWOOD BUSINESSES IN 1921 [FILE] Put together by Larry O’Dell, Director of Special Projects and Development at the Oklahoma Historical Society, this database lists over 200 addresses in the Greenwood area and their phonebook listings in 1920, 1921, and 1922. For anyone interested in researching what businesses were around at the time, and how they moved, this resource is extremely valuable. Click the button below to download. For more information, read the “Property Loss” section of the “Report of the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.”
MAPPING HISTORICAL TRAUMA IN TULSA, 1921-2021
Mapping Historical Trauma in Tulsa, 1921-2021 is a collaborative research project exploring the history and legacy of the Tulsa (Oklahoma) Race Massacre. Led by two archaeologists who were born and raised in Tulsa –– Dr. Alicia Odewale (University of Tulsa) and Dr. Parker VanValkenburgh (Brown University) –– the project brings together students and a diverse group of community partners to recover and critically evaluate the material traces of the 1921 Massacre and its aftermath. Through digital mapping, collaborative archaeology and the curation and public presentation of research results, we hope to create new, critical sites of memory for Tulsans to examine this dark moment in our shared history and consider its legacies and echoes in the present day.
THE TULSA HISTORICAL SOCIETY & MUSEUM
The Tulsa Historical Society & Museum (THSM) collection offers a variety of artifacts related to Tulsa and northeast Oklahoma, including photographs, books, historical films and videos, manuscripts, periodicals, oral histories, maps, clothing and personal artifacts, architectural elements, fine and decorative arts, furniture, and a myriad of other objects.
THE OKLAHOMA DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARIES
This collection features documents and images from various Oklahoma state government agencies, such as the Governor’s office and the Attorney General’s office, regarding the investigation into the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. The collection includes eyewitness testimony, letters, telegrams, police reports, and court cases. Additionally, some documents address prostitution, gambling, and illegal alcohol in Tulsa during the early 1920s.
MARC CARLSON, “TULSA RACE RIOT PHOTOGRAPHS”
Marc Carlson, Dean of the McFarlin Library, University of Tulsa, developed this site. He is a historical researcher and a librarian. He has been researching the Tulsa Race Massacre since 1989.