Tulsa-Greenwood Massacre Claims Accountability Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.3466 | Sponsor: Rep. Johnson, Henry C. "Hank," Jr. (D-GA)
Policy area: Law

Summary:
Tulsa-Greenwood Massacre Claims Accountability Act of 2021
This bill provides a cause of action for the victims of the 1921 race massacre that occurred in the Greenwood community of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Specifically, any person who acted under color of authority of the State of Oklahoma or the City of Tulsa to deprive a victim, on account of race, of any constitutional right secured to the victim at that time shall be liable to the victim or the victim's beneficiary or heir in a civil action for compensation.

To provide a remedy for survivors and descendants of the victims of the 
                 Tulsa, Oklahoma Race Massacre of 1921.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Tulsa-Greenwood Massacre Claims 
Accountability Act of 2021''.

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. At the time, an estimated 11,000 African 
        Americans lived in Greenwood, and its commercial district was 
        known nationally as the ``Black Wall Street''. The community 
        boasted two newspapers, over a dozen churches, and hundreds of 
        African-American-owned businesses.
            (2) On the evening of May 31, 1921, the African-American 
        Greenwood community of Tulsa, Oklahoma was ravaged by a White 
        mob, some of whom were deputized and armed by law enforcement. 
        By the conclusion of the massacre at midday, June 1, virtually 
        every building in a 42-square-block area of the community--
        homes, schools, churches, and businesses--was burned to the 
        ground and thousands were left homeless. 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 to 1922 in tents.
            (3) Credible evidence supports the belief that 
        approximately 300 African Americans were killed during the 
        massacre, but the exact death toll remains unknown.
            (4) In the wake of the destruction, a State-convened grand 
        jury officially placed responsibility for the violence on the 
        African-American community, exonerating Whites of all 
        responsibility. No one was ever prosecuted or punished for the 
        violent criminal acts.
            (5) None of the nearly 200 contemporaneously filed lawsuits 
        by residents and property owners in Greenwood were successful 
        in recovering damages from insurance companies to assist in the 
        reconstruction of the community. After the city attempted 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 massacre, effectively 
        excising it from collective memory, until the Oklahoma 
        Legislature created a commission to study the event in 1997. 
        The commission's February 28, 2001, report uncovered new 
        information and detailed, for the first time, the extent of 
        involvement by the State and city government in prosecuting and 
        erasing evidence of the massacre (Okla. Stat. Tit. 74 Section 
        8000.1 (West 2005)).
            (7) The documentation assembled by the ``1921 Tulsa Race 
        Riot Commission'' provides strong evidence that some local 
        municipal and county officials failed to take actions to calm 
        or contain the situation once violence erupted and, in some 
        cases, became 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 information contained in the report, the 
        Greenwood claimants filed suit, pursuant to the laws codified 
        in sections 1981, 1983, and 1985 of title 42 of the United 
        States Code and the 14th Amendment, seeking damages for the 
        injuries sustained in the massacre as a result of the 
        government's involvement. 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 (10th Cir. 2004), cert denied Alexander v. 
        State of Oklahoma, 544 U.S. 1044 (2005)).

SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are the following:
            (1) To ensure that laws governing claims made in connection 
        with the Tulsa, Oklahoma race massacre of 1921 and its 
        aftermath further the United States policy of providing 
        compensation to any Greenwood race massacre victim, who was 
        physically injured or killed or who had their property 
        destroyed or taken as a result of the actions of the 
        individuals acting under color of State, county, or municipal 
        authorization, their heirs, and beneficiaries.
            (2) To ensure that claims made in connection with the 
        Tulsa, Oklahoma race massacre of 1921 and its aftermath are not 
        unfairly barred by statutes of limitations or laches or other 
        similar provision of any applicable law relating to the 
        timeliness of the filing of claims that might prevent a claim 
        from being heard on its merits, or any notice requirements 
        imposed by State law, but are resolved in a just and fair 
        manner.

SEC. 4. CAUSE OF ACTION.

    (a) In General.--Every person who, in connection with the Tulsa, 
Oklahoma race massacre of 1921 and its aftermath, acted under color of 
any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of the State of 
Oklahoma or the city of Tulsa to subject, or cause to be subjected, any 
Greenwood race massacre victim to the deprivation, on account of race, 
of any right secured at the time of the deprivation by the United 
States Constitution, shall be liable to the Greenwood race massacre 
victim, or their heir or beneficiary, in a civil action for redress.
    (b) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) The term ``Greenwood race massacre victim'' means any 
        person that was physically injured or killed or had their 
        property destroyed or taken as a result of the actions of a 
        person acting under color of State, county, or municipal 
        authorization during or in the aftermath of the Tulsa race 
        massacre of 1921.
            (2) The term ``person'' has the meaning given such term in 
        section 1 of title 1, United States Code.
            (3) The term ``redress'' includes, for any residual fund 
        created by litigation under this Act, the appointment of a 
        special master to create and administer a compensation program, 
        in consultation with the prevailing class of litigants, to make 
        grants to or enter into contracts with any community-based 
        organization, network, or coalition of community-based 
        organizations to promote the health, safety, and welfare of 
        that class.

SEC. 5. CLARIFICATION.

     Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a Greenwood race 
massacre victim, or their heir or beneficiary, who previously brought 
an action under section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United 
States (42 U.S.C. 1983) that was dismissed because the statute of 
limitations is not precluded from bringing an action under this Act.
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