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Editorial/Column
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Tulsa And Other Black Massacres
felt anger, hurt, and sad- ness as I watched The History Channel documen- tary on Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Race Massacres in 1921 this past weekend. It led me to investigate other Black com- munities in American cities that were destroyed by white
terrorism.
Most of us are familiar
with the story of Midwest Florida Gulf Coast, Rose- wood, Florida, a Black com- munity that was destroyed in 1923, by white mobs as a re- sult of a false claim of rape of a White woman by a Black man. Indeed, the destruction of Tulsa’s Black community known as Black Wall Street, and Florida’s Rosewood de- struction were not the only two Black communities de- stroyed by white mobs.
Both of those communi- ties’ stories were downplayed by the mainstream media for 50 years or more. The resi- dents of those communities lost their lives, their prop- erty, and failed to receive compensation from existing governments and insurance companies.
Moreover, the dead bod- ies of residents killed during those massacres were dumped in unmarked mass graves that currently require ground penetrating radar machines to locate the graves.
Other Black massacres that were ignored in history
books that you should know about include the Colfax Louisiana Massacre (1873), Wilmington, North Carolina Massacre (1898), and Atlanta Massacre (1906).
After the Civil War, men and women were lynched, had their property stolen, were terrorized, and run out of their communities during Reconstruction and Jim Crow with little to no support from most White Americans.
On April 13, 1873, 150 Black men were estimated to have been murdered by white men in Colfax, Louisiana, using guns and cannons to attack the men on Easter Sunday.
The number of dead was estimated because “many Black bodies were thrown into the Red River after sur- rendering to a mob of former Confederate soldiers, Ku Klux Klan members, and members of the White League.
The massacre was started because Black militia and freedmen had gathered on the Colfax courthouse lawn as a result of a protest of the 1872 Election for the gover- nor of Louisiana. Paramili- tary groups such as the White League used murder, intimi- dation, and Black Voter sup- pression in order for the Democratic Party to regain political control in the State Legislature in 1870.
Also known as the Wilm-
ington Insurrection of 1878, the Wilmington Massacre was carried out by white Su- premacists on September 10, 1898. The majority popula- tion at that time was Black. “The State’s white Southern Democrats conspired and led a mob of 2,000 white men in an attempt to overthrow the legitimately elected biracial government.” They expelled Black and White political leaders from the City,” de- stroyed the property and businesses of Black resi- dents, destroyed the only Black newspaper, and killed 60 to 300 people.
The massacre was “the only incident of direct re- moval and replacement of elected officials by unelected individuals.” This event was similar to the attempt on the nation’s Capitol on January 6, 2021.
On September 24, 1906, the Atlanta Massacre in- cluded lynching and deaths of Blacks, with an estimated 25 to 100 Black deaths. Some were hung from lamp posts, shot, beaten, stabbed, pulled from street cars, at- tacked on the street, and had their homes and businesses invaded/ destroyed by white mobs. The attacks on the Black community were initi- ated by a newspaper report that four white women were raped by Black men.
When reparations are made for these and other at- tacks on Blacks and Black communities, maybe we will be able to find peace and our ancestors will be at rest.
America owes Black de- scendants of slavery, Black massacres, lynching and loss of property reparations for the injustices we have suf- fered. Only then, can Black Americans and America find peace and atonement.
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Muskets And Assault Weapons
etween 1776 and 1786, the founding fathers of Amer-
ica had no idea that weapons would advance much beyond the one-shot muskets and pistols they possessed. Thus, the right to bear arms seemed reasonable. Had assault rifles and high-capacity magazines been available, we doubt if the constitution would have included them for
possession by regular citizens.
Therefore, we wholeheartedly support President Joe
Biden’s attempt to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition sales in America.
Today, there are more than 20 million assault weapons and 250 million magazines with a capacity of 11 rounds or greater. Of the magazines in circulation, 100 million have a capacity of at least 30 rounds, according to Forbes and the National Rifle Association.
During the 1700s, the flintlock musket, the most im- portant weapon of the Revolutionary War, was a single shot muzzle loading weapon. At that time, it was the most advanced technological weapon known to man.
Republicans in Congress completely ignore the 57% of Americans who support banning assault weapons and tighter gun laws. Always suggesting that the answer to mass shootings is more policing and better mental health, Republicans block any attempts to pass assault weapon bans.
The year 2021 is nearly half over, and we have already had 15 mass shootings in at least ten states (Georgia, Col- orado, Illinois, Oklahoma, Texas, California, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Indiana), and Re- publicans still refuse to ban assault weapons. The sur- vivors and families of victims of mass shootings relive the shootings every time another one takes place.
What will it take for America to reach the point where parents don’t have to feel anxious about the safety of their children while in school, or workers can work in a relaxed environment in their workplaces?
Since Congress narrowly missed a mass shooting dur- ing the January 6, 2021, assault on the U. S. Capitol, you would think they would at least enact gun laws that pro- tect them while they conduct the business of this nation.
Of course, we must remember that common sense has- n’t been seen in Congress since the 2016 Election when Republicans became the majority membership.
Embracing AK47s and AR15s as pocketknives is lu-
nacy. Not only are legislators responsible, but every adult American must bear the re- sponsibility of making our society a safe place.
Readers, contact your Congressional representatives and let them know we expect them to help our children by taking AK47s and AR15s off our streets.
FYI
Community Garden Workshops
The next Community Garden Workshop will be held on Thursday, June 10, 2021, 6:30 p. m. at the HOPE Learning Center Fellowship Hall, 4902 N. 22nd St., Tampa (33610). Thursday’s ses- sion will be on Label and Recipe Ingredients. Th next session will be on June 24, 2021, 6:30 p. m.
For additional information, go to www.communitygardenttb.org.
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