Special Collections has a large variety of materials regarding the Tulsa Race Massacre, known historically as the Tulsa Race Riot, as well as other less known terms. Wading through the various databases (bibliographic, archival, and digital) can be confusing for researchers, so this guide is intended to draw those materials into a more easily accessed format.
If you need materials that are in Special Collections, please email them to request viewing: speccoll@utulsa.edu
Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 archive, 1920-2007 (formerly the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 archive, 1920-2007). Identifier: 1989-004
An artificial collection comprised of research materials from a variety of sources, including recordings, photographs. Please be aware that physical access to the originals of some materials, such as the photographs, is restricted due to age and damage. Reader Access copies are available.
William M. O'Brien research papers, 1921-2000. Identifier: 2009-052
The research materials of William M. O'Brien, local historian. Please note these are not processed.
A Song of Greenwood ephemera. Identifier: 2005-009.
A poster and script for a musical.
Sarah Blackwood family and Tulsa Race Massacre photographs, 1908-1921. Identifier: 2010-076.
Photographs taken by James Swinney. The photos of the burning have been moved to the Tulsa Race Massacre Collection.
Shofner family ephemera, 1930s-1973. Identifier: 2014-075
Includes a report written in 1973 by a Junior High School student interviewing her grandparents.
Barbara Santee archive of Oklahoma women's reproductive rights and ancillary materials, Undated. Identifier: 2015-039
Santee researched a number of other topics, including the Massacre.
Francis Albert Schmidt scrapbooks, 1911-1922. Identifier: 1979-017
Four scrapbooks of photographs taken by Francis A. Schmidt, football coach at Henry Kendall College. The photos of the events have been moved to the Tulsa Race Massacre Collection.
Samuel Grant Kennedy, 1890-1970. Identifier: 1990-002
Materials collection on the history of Tulsa by an early pioneer.
Tulsa City-County Library. African-American Resource Center: Tulsa Race Riot of 1921
Tulsa City-County Library. Tulsa and Oklahoma History in the Research Center: 1921 Tulsa Race Riot.
Tulsa Historical Society and Museum. 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
OSU-Tulsa. Ruth Sigler Avery Collection - Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.
Tulsa Race Riot Photographs. (Public domain images of pre-destruction Greenwood from The Tulsa Star)
The Tulsa Race Massacre. (Research site maintained by I. Marc Carlson)
A Conspiracy Of Silence The Tulsa Race Riot Of 1921. Washington, D.C. National Public Radio, Education Services 1981, c1980. (F704.T92 C65 1980)
Black Wall Street Merchants' Association. Black Wall Street, Tulsa. [Videorecording] [Oakland, CA] : Phoenix Media Studios, c2007. (F704.T92 B52 2007 DVD)
Burn The Evolution Of An American City. [Videorecording] [United States] : Salt2Light Productions, 2011. (F704.T92 B86 2011 DVD Undrsz)
The Greenwood blues [videorecording] : the Tulsa race war of 1921. Oklahoma City: KOCO TV 5 Alive, 1983. (F704.T92 G733 1983 Videorecording)
Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey (Musical group). The race riot suite. Tulsa, OK : Kinnara Records, [2011] (M1366.J33 R33 2011 Compact Disc)
Barrett, Charles Franklin, 1861- Oklahoma After Fifty Years : A History Of The Sooner State And Its People, 1889-1939 ... A Narrative. Hopkinsville, Ky. ; Oklahoma City, Okl. : The Historical Record Association, 1941. (F694 .B37 1941)
Brophy, Alfred L. Reconstructing The Dreamland : The Tulsa Riot Of 1921 : Race, Reparations, And Reconciliation. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2002. (F704.T92 B76 2002)
Douglas, Clarence B. The history of Tulsa, Oklahoma: a city with a personality... Chicago, Clarke, 1921. (F704.T92 D68 1921)
Ellsworth, Scott. Death In A Promised Land : The Tulsa Race Riot Of 1921. Baton Rouge : Louisiana State University Press, c1982. (F704.T92 E44 1982)
Franklin, John Hope. The Tulsa Race Riot : A Scientific, Historical And Legal Analysis. [Okla.? : s.n.], 2000. (F704.T92 F73 2000)
Gates, Eddie Faye. Riot On Greenwood: The Total Destruction Of Black Wall Street, 1921. Tulsa, Okla. : Out on a Limb Publishing, 2006. (F704.T92 G38 2006)
Gill, Loren L. The Tulsa Race Riot. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Tulsa, 1946. (C40.99 .G54 1946)
Golden Jubilee, 1905-1957 : Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church. Tulsa, Okla. Oklahoma Eagle Publishing 1957. (BX8444.T8 G65 1957)
Halliburton, R. The Tulsa race war of 1921.San Francisco : R and E Research Associates, 1975.(F704.T92 H34 1975)
Hirsch, James S. Riot And Remembrance : The Tulsa Race War And Its Legacy. Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 2002. (F704.T92 R56 2002)
Hower, Robert N. 1921 Tulsa Race Riot And The American Red Cross, "Angels Of Mercy". Tulsa, Okla. : Homestead Press, c1993. (F704.T92 H69 1993)
Madigan, Tim. The Burning : Massacre, Destruction, And The Tulsa Race Riot Of 1921. New York : Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press, 2001. (F704.T92 M33 2001)
Messer, Christopher Michael. The Tulsa Race Riot Of 1921 : Determining Its Causes And Framing. Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oklahoma State University, 2008. (F704.T92 M47 2008)
National Conference for Community and Justice. Racial Reconciliation Project : Final Report (January 2003). Tulsa, Okla. : National Conference for Community and Justice, Tulsa Region, [2003]. (F704.T92 N382 2003)
National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior. 1921 Tulsa Race Riot Reconnaissance Survey: Final. [S.l. : s.n.], 2005. (F704.T92 N38 2005a)
Norcom, Abner H. As It Was. [Dallas, Tex. Abner H. Norcom 1982] (F704.T92 N67 1982)
Norris, Robert D. The Oklahoma National Guard And The Tulsa Race Riot Of 1921: A Historical, Tactical And Legal Analysis. Tulsa : [s.n.], [2003] (F704.T92 N67 2003)
O'Brien, William M. Who Speaks For Us? : The Responsible Citizens Of Tulsa In 1921. Jenks (Okla.) : William M. O'Brien, 2002. (F704.T92 O269 2002)
Parrish, Mary E. Jones. Events Of The Tulsa Disaster. [Tulsa?, Okla. s.n. 1922?] (F704.T92 P37 1922)
Parrish, Mary E. Jones. An Eye-Witness Account Of The 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. [Tulsa, Okla.] : s.n., 2009. (F704.T92 P27 2009) A facsimile of Events of the Tulsa Disaster.
Parrish, Mary E. Jones. Race Riot 1921 : Events Of The Tulsa Disaster. Tulsa, Okla. : Out on a Limb Publishing, c1998. (F704.T92 P37 1998) A reprint of Events of the Tulsa Disaster.
Reporting : The Tulsa Riots 1921. St. Paul, MN : Archive of American Journalism, c2018. (F704.T92 R47 2018)
The Disaster Of The 1921 Race Riot. Tulsa : Oklahoma Impact Magazine, Inc., 1971. (F704.T9 I43 1971)
Thompson, Don. Hush, Somebody's Callin' My Name : A Photographic Essay Of Survival, Resilience And Perseverance. Tulsa, Okla. : Don Thompson : Holbrook Printing Co., c2008. (F704.T92 T46 2008)
Tracy, Marjorie Ann. The Tulsa Race Riot Of 1921 : The Politics Of Lawlessness. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Tulsa, 1996. (C40.99 .T7 1996)
Trekell, Ronald L. History Of The Tulsa Police Department, 1882-1990. [S.l. s.n. 1989] (HV8148.T84 T73 1989)
Warner, Ross T. Oklahoma Boy : An Autobiography. [Tulsa, Okla.] : Privately published, 1968. (CT275.W2855 A3 1968b)
Williams, Lee E., 1914- Anatomy Of Four Race Riots : Racial Conflict In Knoxville, Elaine (Arkansas), Tulsa, And Chicago, 1919-1921. [Hattiesburg] : University and College Press of Mississippi, 1972. (E185.61 .W736 1972)
An immersive experience to better understand the horrors of the Tulsa Race Massacre and the legacy it created, is Greenwood Rising.
Greenwood Rising is the flagship project of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission (“TRMCC”). Its location on the southeast corner of Greenwood Avenue and Archer Street is the gateway to the celebrated Black Wall Street.
Greenwood Rising honors the icons of Black Wall Street, memorializes the victims of the Massacre, and examines the lessons of the past to inspire meaningful, sustainable action in the present. Its multimedia presentation includes voices of Massacre survivors and profiles of historic figures, all contextualized in the history of America.
To learn more and plan your visit: Greenwood Rising Website
