Chared Negro Killed in Tulsa Riot 6-1-1921
Object Details
- Caption
- On May 31 and June 1, 1921, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, mobs of white residents brutally attacked the African American community of Greenwood, colloquially known as "Black Wall Street," in the deadliest racial massacre in U.S. history. This unidentified individual was just one of the many victims. The Oklahoma Bureau of Vital Statistics recorded the official death toll as 36, but it is now believed it may have been as high as 300 dead with many more missing and wounded.
- Photo postcards of the Tulsa Race Massacre were widely distributed following the massacre in 1921. Like postcards depicting lynchings, these souvenir cards were powerful declarations of white racial power and control. Decades later, the cards served as evidence for community members working to recover the forgotten history of the riot and secure justice for its victims and their descendants.
- Description
- A sepia-toned photographic postcard depicting the body of an unidentified victim of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The close up image shows the charred remains of a person lying on the ground amid debris. Across the bottom of the image, written into the negative and appearing as white text is [CHARED NEGRO / KILLED IN TULSA RIOT 6-1-1921]. The verso is marked [POST CARD] at the top with spaces for [CORRESPONDENCE] and [ADDRESS] and an AZO stamp box in the top right corner.
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Data Source
- National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Date
- 1921
- Object number
- 2011.175.7
- Created by
- Unidentified
- Owned by
- J. Kavin Ross, American
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
- Type
- gelatin silver prints
- photographic postcards
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper, with ink on paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 3 7/16 × 5 7/16 in. (8.7 × 13.8 cm)
- Place depicted
- Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States, North and Central America
- See more items in
- National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
- Classification
- Photographs and Still Images
- Topic
- African American
- Communities
- Photography
- Race relations
- Race riots
- Tulsa Race Massacre
- U.S. History, 1919-1933
- Violence
- Record ID
- nmaahc_2011.175.7
