I 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1843 
To provide a mechanism for a determination on the merits of the claims 
brought by survivors and descendants of the victims of the Tulsa, Okla-
homa, Race Riot of 1921 but who were denied that determination. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 1, 2009 
Mr. CONYERS (for himself, Mr. NADLER of New York, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, 
Ms. WATERS, Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. GRIJALVA, and 
Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide a mechanism for a determination on the merits 
of the claims brought by survivors and descendants of 
the victims of the Tulsa, Oklahoma, Race Riot of 1921 
but who were denied that determination. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘John Hope Franklin 
Tulsa-Greenwood Race Riot Claims Accountability Act of 
2009’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) In 1921, Greenwood (a community in 
Tulsa, Oklahoma) was one of the most prosperous 
African-American communities in the United States. 
Serving over 8,000 residents, Greenwood’s commer-
cial district was known nationally as the ‘‘Negro 
Wall Street’’. The community boasted two news-
papers, over a dozen churches, and hundreds of Afri-
can-American-owned businesses. 
(2) On the evening of May 31, 1921, the Afri-
can-American Greenwood community of Tulsa, Okla-
homa, was ravaged by a White mob. By the conclu-
sion of the riot at midday, June 1, virtually every 
building in a 42-square-block area of the commu-
nity—homes, schools, churches, and businesses—was 
burned to the ground and thousands were left home-
less. Over 1,200 homes were destroyed. Every 
church, school, and business in Greenwood was set 
on fire. Approximately 8,000 African-Americans 
were left homeless and penniless. Unable to rebuild, 
thousands of residents spent the winter of 1921– 
1922 in tents. 
(3) Credible evidence supports the belief that 
up to 300 African-Americans were killed during the 
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riot. As many victims were buried in unmarked 
graves, an exact accounting is impossible. 
(4) In the wake of the White mob destruction 
of the Greenwood District, a State-convened grand 
jury officially placed responsibility for the violence 
on the African-American community, exonerating 
Whites of all responsibility. Neither the State nor 
the city undertook any investigations or prosecu-
tions, and documents relating to the riot vanished 
from State archives. Ultimately, no convictions were 
obtained for the incidents of murder, arson, or lar-
ceny connected with the riot. 
(5) None of the more than 100 contempora-
neously filed lawsuits by residents and property own-
ers in Greenwood were successful in recovering dam-
ages from insurance companies to assist in the re-
construction of the community. After the city at-
tempted to block their redevelopment efforts, victims 
were forced to rebuild with their own resources or 
abandon the community. 
(6) State and local governments suppressed or 
ignored issues and claims arising from the 1921 riot, 
effectively excising it from collective memory, until 
the Oklahoma Legislature created a commission to 
study the event in 1997. The commission’s February 
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28, 2001, report uncovered new information and de-
tailed, for the first time, the extent of involvement 
by the State and city government in prosecuting and 
erasing evidence of the riot (Okla. Stat. Tit. 74 Sec-
tion 8000.1 (West 2005)). 
(7) The documentation assembled by The 1921 
Tulsa Race Riot Commission provides strong evi-
dence that some local municipal and county officials 
failed to take actions to calm or contain the situa-
tion once violence erupted and, in some cases, be-
came participants in the subsequent violence, and 
even deputized and armed many Whites who were 
part of a mob that killed, looted, and burned down 
the Greenwood area. 
(8) Based on new information contained in the 
report, the Greenwood claimants filed suit, pursuant 
to the laws codifed in sections 1981, 1983, and 1985 
of title 42 of the United States Code and the 14th 
amendment, seeking damages for the injuries sus-
tained in the riot as a result of the government’s in-
volvement. Their claims were dismissed as time 
barred by the court, and so were not determined on 
the merits. 382 F.3d 1206 (10th Cir. 2004), rehrg 
en banc denied (with dissent), 391 F. 3d 1155 (10th 
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Cir. 2004), cert denied Alexander v. State of Okla-
homa, 544 U.S. 1044 (2005). 
SEC. 3. DETERMINATION ON MERITS FOR GREENWOOD 
CLAIMANTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Any Greenwood claimant who has 
not previously obtained a determination on the merits of 
a Greenwood claim may, in a civil action commenced not 
later than 5 years after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, obtain that determination. 
(b) INTENT OF CONGRESS AS TO REMEDIAL NATURE 
OF SECTION.—It is the intent of Congress that this sec-
tion be liberally construed so as to effectuate its remedial 
purpose of giving a full determination on the merits for 
each Greenwood claim denied that determination. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘Greenwood claimant’’ means an 
individual who filed a discrimination complaint aris-
ing from conduct connected to the May 31, 1921, 
race riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and 
(2) the term ‘‘Greenwood claim’’ means a com-
plaint filed in the Alexander v. State of Oklahoma 
litigation that was dismissed as time barred by the 
Federal court. 
Æ 
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