The U.S. Justice Department’s first-ever review of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre has concluded that more than a century after one of the worst racial attacks in U.S. history, there is no longer any avenue to bring a criminal case.
The department’s investigation, launched without expectations of prosecution, revealed the full scope of the massacre—a brutal attack by a white mob on the Greenwood district in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which left as many as 300 Black residents dead and thousands displaced. Over 1,200 homes, businesses, schools, and churches were destroyed during the three-day rampage.
In a detailed 120-page report, federal investigators outlined the horrific impact of the massacre, but ultimately determined that due to the passage of time and the difficulty of gathering evidence from events nearly a century old, no criminal charges can be pursued.
This decision comes after years of calls for accountability from survivors and descendants of those affected.
The massacre, often referred to as the “Black Wall Street Massacre,” remains one of the darkest chapters in American history, and while the Justice Department’s probe brought renewed attention to the atrocity, its findings indicate that justice cannot be sought through legal means today. The legacy of the massacre continues to affect the community, with efforts now focused on reparations, remembrance, and healing.
