I 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5593 

To provide a remedy for survivors and descendants of the victims of the 

Tulsa, Oklahoma Race Riot of 1921. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 8, 2012 

Mr. CONYERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide a remedy for survivors and descendants of the 

victims of the Tulsa, Oklahoma Race Riot of 1921. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘John Hope Franklin 

5 Tulsa-Greenwood Race Riot Claims Accountability Act of 

6 2012’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 The Congress makes the following findings: 

9 (1) In 1921, Greenwood (a community in 

10 Tulsa, Oklahoma) was one of the most prosperous 


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1 African-American communities in the United States. 

2 Serving over 8,000 residents, Greenwood’s commer3 cial district was known nationally as the ‘‘Negro 

4 Wall Street’’. The community boasted two news5 papers, over a dozen churches, and hundreds of Afri6 can-American-owned businesses. 

7 (2) On the evening of May 31, 1921, the Afri8 can-American Greenwood community of Tulsa, Okla9 homa was ravaged by a White mob. By the conclu10 sion of the riot at midday, June 1, virtually every 

11 building in a 42-square-block area of the commu12 nity—homes, schools, churches, and businesses—was 

13 burned to the ground and thousands were left home14 less. Over 1,200 homes were destroyed. Every 

15 church, school, and business in Greenwood was set 

16 on fire. Approximately 8,000 African-Americans 

17 were left homeless and penniless. Unable to rebuild, 

18 thousands of residents spent the winter of 1921– 

19 1922 in tents. 

20 (3) Credible evidence supports the belief that 

21 up to 300 African-Americans were killed during the 

22 riot. As many victims were buried in unmarked 

23 graves, an exact accounting is impossible. 

24 (4) In the wake of the White mob destruction 

25 of the Greenwood District, a State-convened grand 


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1 jury officially placed responsibility for the violence 

2 on the African-American community, exonerating 

3 Whites of all responsibility. Neither the State nor 

4 the city undertook any investigations or prosecu5 tions, and documents relating to the riot vanished 

6 from State archives. Ultimately, no convictions were 

7 obtained for the incidents of murder, arson, or lar8 ceny connected with the riot. 

9 (5) None of the more than 100 contempora10 neously filed lawsuits by residents and property own11 ers in Greenwood were successful in recovering dam12 ages from insurance companies to assist in the re13 construction of the community. After the city at14 tempted to block their redevelopment efforts, victims 

15 were forced to rebuild with their own resources or 

16 abandon the community. 

17 (6) State and local governments suppressed or 

18 ignored issues and claims arising from the 1921 riot, 

19 effectively excising it from collective memory, until 

20 the Oklahoma Legislature created a commission to 

21 study the event in 1997. The commission’s February 

22 28, 2001, report uncovered new information and de23 tailed, for the first time, the extent of involvement 

24 by the State and city government in prosecuting and 


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1 erasing evidence of the riot (Okla. Stat. Tit. 74 Sec2 tion 8000.1 (West 2005)). 

3 (7) The documentation assembled by the 1921 

4 Tulsa Race Riot Commission provides strong evi5 dence that some local municipal and county officials 

6 failed to take actions to calm or contain the situa7 tion once violence erupted and, in some cases, be8 came participants in the subsequent violence, and 

9 even deputized and armed many Whites who were 

10 part of a mob that killed, looted, and burned down 

11 the Greenwood area. 

12 (8) Based on new information contained in the 

13 report, the Greenwood claimants filed suit, pursuant 

14 to the laws codified in sections 1981, 1983, and 

15 1985 of title 42 of the United States Code and the 

16 14th Amendment, seeking damages for the injuries 

17 sustained in the riot as a result of the government’s 

18 involvement. Their claims were dismissed as time 

19 barred by the court, and so were not determined on 

20 the merits (382 F.3d 1206 (10th Cir. 2004), rehrg 

21 en banc denied (with dissent), 391 F.3d 1155 (10th 

22 Cir. 2004), cert denied Alexander v. State of Okla23 homa, 544 U.S. 1044 (2005)). 


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1 SEC. 3. CAUSE OF ACTION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Every person who, in connection 

3 with the Tulsa, Oklahoma race riot of 1921 and its after4 math, acted under color of any statute, ordinance, regula5 tion, custom, or usage of the State of Oklahoma to sub6 ject, or cause to be subjected, any person to the depriva7 tion, on account of race, of any right secured at the time 

8 of the deprivation by Oklahoma law, shall be liable to the 

9 party injured in a civil action for redress. 

10 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘person’’ 

11 includes the State of Oklahoma. 

12 (c) LIMITATION ON COMMENCEMENT OF ACTION.— 

13 A civil action under this section may not be commenced 

14 later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this 

15 Act. 

Æ 


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