Digging Up a Painful Past

1. Set Focus
Pose these essential questions: What lessons can we learn from the past? What are the dangers of not understanding the past?

2. List Vocabulary
Share some of the challenging vocabulary words in the article (see below). Encourage students to use context to infer meanings as they read.

• abetted (p. 19)
• expunged (p. 19)
• reconciliation (p. 19)
• incited (p. 20)
• inflammatory (p. 20)
• suppressed (p. 21)

3. Engage
Have students examine the before and after photos of the Dreamland Theatre on page 19. Then ask: What kind of life do you think the owners of the theater enjoyed before it was destroyed? How do you think they felt seeing their business destroyed so violently? 

4. Read and Discuss
Ask students to read the Upfront article about the race massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Review why the article is a secondary source. (It was written by people who didn’t personally experience or witness the events.) Then pose these critical-thinking questions::

• At the beginning of the article, the authors describe Greenwood as a “rarity.” What do they mean? (The authors are describing Greenwood in 1921, before the massacre. In Greenwood, Black people had created a thriving economy for themselves, owning restaurants, hotels, theaters, and transportation services—which was a rare accomplishment given the discrimination and violence they faced from white people at the time.) 

• What happened during the race massacre of May 31 to June 1? (White citizens of Tulsa went into the Greenwood neighborhood and looted the homes and businesses of Black people and then set the buildings on fire. White people also shot at Black people. The police and the Oklahoma National Guard arrested Black people. Some Guard members joined the rioters. By the end of the massacre, up to 300 people had been killed and 8,000 or more had been left homeless.)

• What was the Red Summer? How does the Tulsa race massacre connect to the Red Summer? (The Red Summer refers to white mob violence against Black people in major cities across the U.S. in the summer and fall of 1919. The violence stemmed partly from white resentment over job competition from Black people. The Tulsa race massacre was a continuation of that resentment against Black success.)

• In the article, Scott Ellsworth says that stories of the massacre were “actively suppressed.” Which details in the article support this point? Why do you think the stories were suppressed? (Supporting details include: unmarked graves, police records and news stories vanishing, and schools not teaching the history. Students’ second responses will vary, but points should be well-reasoned.)

5. Use the Primary Sources

Project or distribute the PDF ‘Fleeing to Safety’ (or assign it in Google Classroom), which features excerpts from Mary E. Jones Parrish’s first-person account of what she experienced during the Tulsa race massacre. Discuss what makes the excerpts from the account a primary source. (They provide firsthand evidence concerning the topic.) Have students read the excerpts and answer the questions below (which appear on the PDF without answers).

• How would you describe the tone and purpose of these excerpts from Parrish’s account? (The tone can be described as fearful, panicked, and grim. Parrish’s purpose is to create a record of what she experienced during the massacre and how she felt about the violence.)

• What was the distressing surprise Parrish refers to in the first paragraph? Why was it distressing? (The distressing surprise was that white community members were using airplanes to attack Black community members. It was distressing because it meant the attacks were not only continuing into a second day but also because the Black community had no ability to fight back against planes and little ability to even protect themselves from such an attack.)

• Who is Parrish alluding to with “enemy”? What does this word choice help convey about the attack? (With “enemy,” Parrish is referring to white Tulsa community members who were attacking their fellow Black citizens. This word choice helps convey the extremeness of the attack; the attackers ceased to be neighbors and instead were the enemy intent on total destruction.)   

• Why do you think “How far had they burned when you left town?” was a common question to those fleeing? (Probably this was a common question because people were concerned about their homes, businesses, and other property they had to leave behind. They likely wanted to have a sense of how devastating the attacks were on their life’s work and future financial success and security.)

• In the Upfront article, Kevin Matthews says that Greenwood “was burned down and destroyed for a reason.” Based on the article and Parrish’s account, to what extent do you think retribution for the Black community’s success was a part of that reason? (Students’ responses will vary, but they should support their ideas with evidence from both texts.)

6. Writing Prompt
Research one of the white supremacist riots and massacres of the Red Summer of 1919, such as in Chicago or Philadelphia. Then write a one-page summary of your findings.

7. Quiz
Use the quiz to assess comprehension.

8. Classroom Debate
Is Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum correct that the only way forward is by being honest about the past?

9. More Primary Sources
Have students choose two of the first-person accounts Parrish (of the primary source) collected in her book Events of the Tulsa Disaster (https://bit.ly/3noxWoL) and compare and contrast them for what the authors included and emphasized and what these choices help convey.