Photographic postcard from the Tula Race Riot, June 1, 1921
date: label: Date
content: 1921
name: label: Created by
content: Unidentified
label: Owned by
content: J. Kavin Ross, American
notes: label: Caption
content: On May 31 and June 1, 1921, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, mobs of white residents brutally attacked the African American community of Greenwood, colloquially known as "Black Wall Street," in the deadliest racial massacre in U.S. history. Homes, businesses, and community structures including schools, churches, a hospital, and the library were looted and burned or otherwise destroyed. Exact statistics are unknown, but the violence left around 10,000 people homeless and as many as 300 people dead with many more missing and wounded.
label: Caption
content: Photo postcards of the Tulsa Race Massacre were widely distributed following the massacre in 1921. Like postcards depicting lynchings, these souvenir cards were powerful declarations of white racial power and control. Decades later, the cards served as evidence for community members working to recover the forgotten history of the riot and secure justice for its victims and their descendants.
label: Description
content: A sepia-toned photographic postcard depciting a scene from the Tulsa Race Massacre. The image is captured from an elevated position. In the center, a row of buildings burn, with dark smoke billowing into the sky. In the foreground are the remains of several buildings already burned. Pieces of furniture and other personal possessions are scattered about. Several individuals are visible in the lower left foreground: a pair walk together, a figure sits under a tree, another figure pushes a bicycle. The verso is marked [POST CARD] at the top with spaces for [CORRESPONDENCE] and [ADDRESS] and an AZO stamp box in the top right corner.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Tulsa, Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Communities
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: Race relations
label: Topic
content: Race riots
label: Topic
content: Tulsa Race Massacre
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, 1919-1933
label: Topic
content: Violence
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2011.175.14
objectType: label: Type
content: gelatin silver prints
label: Type
content: photographic postcards
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Public domain
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: silver and photographic gelatin on photographic paper, with ink on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 3 3/8 x 5 1/2 in. (8.6 x 14 cm)