3-on-3 Tourney Marks 103 Years Since Black Wall Street Massacre
To commemorate the Black Wall Street Massacre, a three-on-three basketball tournament was held June 1, at the El Centro Community Center. A three-on-three basketball tournament commemorated the 103rd anniversary of the Black Wall Street Massacre, which took place on June 1, 1921, marking one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history. The massacre, known as the "Tulsa Race Riot," was carried out over two days in 1921 by mobs of white supremacists, some in official government positions, who burned and destroyed over 35 blocks of the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The official death toll was 36, according to the Oklahoma Bureau of Vital Statistics, but a 2001 probe of events found that there were 39 dead, 26 Black and 13 white, based on contemporary autopsy reports, death certificates, and other records. The tournament was divided into two categories, one for youths ages 12 to 17 and one for adults. The youth trophy was won by The Little Disciples, while the 18-plus winner was The 3 A's. The state passed legislation to establish scholarships for survivors and develop a park in memory of the victims of the massacre in 2010. Schools in Oklahoma have been required to teach students about the massacre since 2002 and it will officially become part of the curriculum in 2020.
Published : 10 months ago by Francisco Orozco, Richard Montenegro Brown in Finance
EL CENTRO — For two days in 1921, mobs of white supremacists — some in official government positions — attacked Black residents, destroying their homes and businesses in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in what is one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history.
This shameful chapter in US history was known as the “Black Wall Street Massacre” due to the fact that the attackers burned and destroyed, over May 31 and June 1, 1921, more than 35 blocks of the Greenwood District, one of the wealthiest Black communities in America at the time.
To commemorate the 103rd anniversary of the Black Wall Street Massacre, a three-on-three basketball tournament that featured historical presentations, vendor booths and entertainment was held Saturday, June 1, at the El Centro Community Center on South First Street.
Among the opening moments of Saturday’s tournament were the singing of the national anthem and the Black National Anthem, the latter performed by Carmelia “Toot” Bell, choir director of Prince Chapel By the Sea in La Jolla. The Black National Anthem is “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” a hymn written as a poem by NAACP leader James Weldon Johnson in 1900.
With the tournament, it was broken into two categories — one for youths ages 12 to 17 and one for adults. The youth trophy was taken by The Little Disciples, while the 18-plus winner was The 3 A’s, according to tournament organizers.
Pioneers’ Museum Director Caitlin Chávez had perhaps the most meaningful task of the day when she gave a speech on the history of the Black Wall Street Massacre, also known as the Tulsa race massacre and Tulsa race riot.
After two days of violence, more than 800 people had been hospitalized and upward of 6,000 Black residents of Tulsa were displaced in the immediate aftermath of the rioting, according to documented accounts.
The official death toll was 36, according to the Oklahoma Bureau of Vital Statistics. However, the 2001 Tulsa Reparations Coalition probe of events determined that there were 39 dead — 26 Black and 13 white — based on contemporary autopsy reports, death certificates, and other records, documents state. Other reports gave estimates ranging from 75 to 300 dead.
The roots of the violence lay in an assault that a Black shoeshine attendant committed on a white elevator operator. When the shoeshine attendant was jailed and dozens of white residents descended upon the jail looking for a lynching, an outnumbered and overpowered group of Black men looking to protect the jailed man confronted the mob. That’s when the scene exploded in violence.
About 10,000 Black people ended up homeless, and beyond the human carnage, the Black Wall Street Massacre was financially devastating for those who were victimized, seeing their property damages exceed $1.5 million and personal property losses of $750,000 (equivalent to $38.43 million in 2023 values).
In 1996, some 75 years after the massacre, an Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 report, published in 2001, determined the city of Tulsa had conspired with the racist mob; and the commission recommended a program of reparations to survivors and their descendants.
The state passed legislation to establish scholarships for the descendants of survivors and develop a park in memory of the victims of the massacre in Tulsa. The park was dedicated in 2010. Schools in Oklahoma have been required to teach students about the massacre since 2002, and in 2020, the massacre officially became a part of the Oklahoma school curriculum, according to reports.
At Saturday’s tournament, there were informational booths provided by the Imperial Valley LGBT Center and Planned Parenthood Action Fund of the Pacific Southwest, among others, and refreshments included Glacier Shaved Ice.
The event was sponsored by The Change Makers, with Black Lives Matter Imperial Valley and A2Mend also helping to organize. A variety of community- and faith-based organizations participated as well.
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