Biden commemorates Tulsa Massacre 100th anniversary

TULSA, Okla. - President Joe Biden led a remembrance Tuesday of one of the nation’s darkest — and long suppressed — moments of racial violence, marking the 100th anniversary of the destruction of a thriving Black community in Tulsa.

Biden helped commemorate the deaths of hundreds of Black people killed by a white mob a century ago, his visit coming amid a national reckoning on racial justice. The events stood in stark contrast to then-President Donald Trump's trip a year ago, which was greeted by protests.

"The events we speak of today took place 100 years ago and yet I’m the first president in 100 years ever to come to Tulsa," Biden said. "I say that not as a compliment about me. To acknowledge the truth of what took place here. For much too long, the history of what took place here was told in silence. Cloaked in darkness. But just because history is silent, it doesn’t mean that it did not take place. And while darkness can hide much, it erases nothing. Some injustices are so heinous, so horrific, so grievous, they can’t be buried, no matter how hard people try. And so it here, only with truth, can come healing and justice and repair. Only with truth, facing it. But that isn’t enough. First, we have to see, hear and give respect to mother Randall, mother Fletcher and Mr. Van Ellis. And to all those lost so many years ago, for all the descendants of those who suffered, to this community, that’s why we’re here, to shine a light to make sure America knows the story in full." 

Biden is the first president to participate in remembrances of the destruction of what was known as "Black Wall Street." In 1921 — on May 31 and June 1 — when a white mob, including some people hastily deputized by authorities, looted and burned the Greenwood district.

The president, joined by three top Black advisers, met privately with three surviving members of the Greenwood community who lived through the violence, the White House said. Viola "Mother" Fletcher, Hughes "Uncle Red" Van Ellis and Lessie "Mother Randle" Benningfield Randle are all between the ages of 101 and 107.

Outside, Latasha Sanders, 33, of Tulsa, brought her five children and a nephew in hopes of spotting Biden.

An emotional President Joe Biden marked the 100th anniversary of the massacre that destroyed a thriving Black community in Tulsa, declaring Tuesday that he had "come to fill the silence" about one of the nation’s darkest — and long suppressed — moments of racial violence.

"Some injustices are so heinous, so horrific, so grievous, they cannot be buried, no matter how hard people try," Biden said. "Only with truth can come healing."

Biden's commemoration of the deaths of hundreds of Black people killed by a white mob a century ago came amid the current national reckoning on racial justice.

"The events we speak of today took place 100 years ago and yet I’m the first president in 100 years ever to come to Tulsa," Biden said.  "I say that not as a compliment about me. To acknowledge the truth of what took place here. For much too long, the history of what took place here was told in silence. Cloaked in darkness. But just because history is silent, it doesn’t mean that it did not take place. And while darkness can hide much, it erases nothing. Some injustices are so heinous, so horrific, so grievous, they can’t be buried, no matter how hard people try. And so it here, only with truth, can come healing and justice and repair. Only with truth, facing it. But that isn’t enough. First, we have to see, hear and give respect to mother Randall, mother Fletcher and Mr. Van Ellis. And to all those lost so many years ago, for all the descendants of those who suffered, to this community, that’s why we’re here, to shine a light to make sure America knows the story in full." 

After Biden left, there was a spontaneous singing by some audience members of a famous civil rights march song, "Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around."

The events on Tuesday stood in stark contrast to then-President Donald Trump's trip to Tulsa last June, which was greeted by protests. Or the former president's decision, one year ago, to clear Lafayette Square near the White House of demonstrators who gathered to protest the death of George Floyd, a Black man, under the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer.

RELATED: Tulsa Race Massacre: 100 years ago, a White mob torched 'Black Wall Street' and slaughtered Black residents

In 1921 — on May 31 and June 1 — a white mob, including some people hastily deputized by authorities, looted and burned Tulsa's Greenwood district, which was known as "Black Wall Street."

On Tuesday, the president, joined by top Black advisers, met privately with three surviving members of the Greenwood community who lived through the violence, the White House said. Viola "Mother" Fletcher, Hughes "Uncle Red" Van Ellis and Lessie "Mother Randle" Benningfield Randle are all between the ages of 101 and 107.

Biden said their experience had been "a story seen in the mirror dimly."

"But no longer," the president told the survivors. "Now your story will be known in full view."

Outside, Latasha Sanders, 33, of Tulsa, brought her five children and a nephew in hopes of spotting Biden.

"It’s been 100 years, and this is the first we’ve heard from any U.S. president," she said. "I brought my kids here today just so they could be a part of history and not just hear about it, and so they can teach generations to come."

RELATED: ‘A day of remembrance’: President Biden issues proclamation 100 years after Tulsa Race Massacre

As many as 300 Black Tulsans were killed, and thousands of survivors were forced for a time into internment camps overseen by the National Guard. Burned bricks and a fragment of a church basement are about all that survive today of the more than 30-block historically Black district.

Several hundred people milled around Greenwood Avenue in front of the historic Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church awaiting Biden’s arrival at the nearby Greenwood Cultural Center. Some vendors were selling memorabilia, including Black Lives Matter hats, shirts and flags under a bridge of the interstate that cuts through the district.

The names and pictures of Black men killed by police hung on a chain-link fence next to the church, including Eric Harris and Terrence Crutcher in Tulsa.

Biden briefly toured an exhibit at the center, at times stepping closer to peer at framed historic photographs, before he was escorted into a private meeting with the three survivors.

America's continuing struggle over race will continue to test Biden, whose presidency would have been impossible without overwhelming support from Black voters, both in the Democratic primaries and the general election.

He announced Tuesday that he was appointing Vice President Kamala Harris to lead efforts on voting rights as the GOP carries out efforts to pass laws restricting access to the ballot. Republicans portray such legislation as aimed at preventing fraudulent voting, but many critics believe it is designed to limit the voting of minorities.

"We must find the courage to change the things we know we can change," Biden said.  "That’s what Vice President Harris and I are focused on, along with our entire administration, including our Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia Fudge, who’s here today. Because today we’re announcing two expanded efforts targeted towards Black wealth creation that will also help the entire community. The first is, my administration has launched an aggressive effort to combat racial discrimination in housing. That includes everything from red-lining to the cruel fact that a home owned by a Black family is too often appraised at a lower value than a similar home owned by a White family."

Biden has pledged to help combat racism in policing and other areas following nationwide protests after Floyd’s death a year ago that reignited a national conversation about race.

Biden called on Congress to act swiftly to address policing reform. But he has also long projected himself as an ally of police, who are struggling with criticism about long-used tactics and training methods and difficulties in recruitment.

"President Joe Biden asked me to help lead our administration’s effort to protect the fundamental right to vote for all Americans. In the days and weeks ahead, I will engage the American people, and I will work with voting rights organizations, community organizations, and the private sector to help strengthen and uplift efforts on voting rights nationwide. And we will also work with members of Congress to help advance these bills," Harris said in a statement on Tuesday. 

The Tulsa massacre has only recently entered the national discourse — and the presidential visit put an even brighter spotlight on the event.

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Biden, who was joined by Housing Secretary Marcia Fudge and senior advisers Susan Rice and Cedric Richmond, also announced new measures to help narrow the wealth gap between Blacks and whites and reinvest in underserved communities by expanding access to homeownership and small-business ownership.

The White House said the administration will take steps to address disparities that result in Black-owned homes being appraised at tens of thousands of dollars less than comparable homes owned by whites as well as issue new federal rules to fight housing discrimination. The administration is also setting a goal of increasing the share of federal contracts awarded to small disadvantaged businesses by 50% by 2026, funneling an estimated additional $100 billion to such businesses over the five-year period, according to the White House.

Historians say the massacre in Tulsa began after a local newspaper drummed up a furor over a Black man accused of stepping on a white girl’s foot. When Black Tulsans showed up with guns to prevent the man’s lynching, white residents responded with overwhelming force.

Reparations for Black Americans whose ancestors were enslaved and for other racial discrimination have been debated in the U.S. since slavery ended in 1865. Now they are being discussed by colleges and universities with ties to slavery and by local governments looking to make cash payments to Black residents.

Biden, who was vice president to the nation’s first Black president and who chose a Black woman as his own vice president, backs a study of reparations, both in Tulsa and more broadly, but has not committed to supporting payments.

Trump visited Tulsa last year under vastly different circumstances.

After suspending his campaign rallies because of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump, a Republican, chose Tulsa as the place to mark his return. But his decision to schedule the rally on June 19, the holiday known as Juneteenth that commemorates the end of slavery in the United States, was met with such fierce criticism that he postponed the event by a day. The rally was still marked by protests outside and empty seats inside an arena downtown.

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Catherine Park contributed to this report. Lemire reported from New York City. Associated Press writer Sean Murphy contributed reporting.