silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper, with ink on paper
Dimensions:
H x W: 3 3/8 x 5 1/2 in. (8.6 x 14 cm)
Type:
gelatin silver prints
photographic postcards
Place depicted:
Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States, North and Central America
Date:
1921
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. Amidst the violence, both white rioters and the Oklahoma National Guard rounded up black residents of Greenwood and forced them to detention centers. More than 6,000 African Americans were interned at the Convention Hall, the Tulsa County Fairgrounds, and the baseball stadium McNulty Park. Some were held for as long as eight days.
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 a scene from the Tulsa Race Massacre. On the left side of the image, a group of African American men and women stand on a dirt road. On the right, a group of armed white men stand with rifles in front of a car parked along the side of the road. At the far right, a man stands behind a metal washtub in front of the parked car. Along the bottom, written into the negative and appearing as white text is [SCENE DURING TULSA RACE RIOT / JUNE 1st 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.
