LITTLE AFRICA ON FIRE TULSA RACE RIOT JUNE 1ST. 1921.
Photograph of the Greenwood District burning during the Tulsa Race Massacre
- Created by
- Unidentified
- Date
- June 1, 1921
- Medium
- silver and photographic gelatin on paper (fiber product)
- Dimensions
- H x W (Image and sheet): 2 7/8 × 4 5/8 in. (7.3 × 11.7 cm)
- H x W (Board): 8 × 12 in. (20.3 × 30.5 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.
- Description
- A black-and-white photograph of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma as it burns. Photograph is taken from an elevated position, depicting the rooftops of buildings and a skyline shrouded in smoke. Written in the negative over the smoke plume is [LITTLE AFRICA ON FIRE / TULSA RACE RIOT JUNE 1ST. 1921]. The photograph is fused to cardstock along with objects 2019.95.7, 2019.95.9, and 2019.95.10.
- Place depicted
- Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Photographs and Still Images
- Type
- gelatin silver prints
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Cassandra P. Johnson Smith
- Object number
- 2019.95.8
- Restrictions & Rights
- Public domain
- Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




