- Created by
- Unidentified
- Owned by
- Ross, J. Kavin, American
- Date
- 1921
- Medium
- 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)
- 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. Homes, businesses, and community structures including schools, churches, a hospital, and the library were looted and burned or otherwise destroyed. Exact statistics are unknown, but the violence left around 10,000 people homeless and as many as 300 people 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 depciting a scene from the Tulsa Race Massacre. The image is captured from an elevated position. In the center, a row of buildings burn, with dark smoke billowing into the sky. In the foreground are the remains of several buildings already burned. Pieces of furniture and other personal possessions are scattered about. Several individuals are visible in the lower left foreground: a pair walk together, a figure sits under a tree, another figure pushes a bicycle. 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.
- Place depicted
- Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Photographs and Still Images
- Type
- gelatin silver prints
- photographic postcards
- Topic
- Communities
- Photography
- Race relations
- Race riots
- Tulsa Race Massacre
- U.S. History, 1919-1933
- Violence
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2011.175.14
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




