US Presidency
2021

The death toll records by local officials said there were 36 people. That’s all. Thirty-six people. But based on studies, records, and accounts, the likelihood—the likely number is much more, in the multiple of hundreds. Untold bodies dumped into mass graves. Families who, at the time, waited for hours and days to know the fate of their loved ones are now descendants who have gone 100 years without closure. But, you know, as we speak, the process—the process of exhuming the unmarked graves has started. And at this moment, I’d like to pause for a moment of silence for the fathers, the mothers, the sisters, sons, and daughters, friends of God and Greenwood. They deserve dignity, and they deserve our respect. May their souls rest in peace. [Pause for a moment of silence.] My fellow Americans, this was not a riot. This was a massacre——among the worst in our history, but not the only one. And for too long, forgotten by our history.