06/02/2025
June 1 is officially Tulsa Race Massacre Observance Day.
We remember to honor. We organize to win.
The night of May 31, 1921, was not just the beginning of summer.
It became the beginning of the end for a flourishing Black community.
That evening, violence spread through Greenwood.
Gunfire echoed through the streets. Businesses were looted. Fires were set.
Families huddled in fear, unsure if they would make it to morning.
By dawn on June 1, Greenwood had been reduced to ash.
Nearly 40 blocks of Black success, Black faith, and Black legacy — gone.
Homes, churches, and dreams were destroyed in just a few hours.
And for decades afterward, there was no recognition. No mourning. No justice.
But today, for the first time in history, June 1 is officially Tulsa Race Massacre Observance Day.
It falls on a Sunday — a day many of us set aside for rest, for family, and for reflection. That feels right. Because June 1 deserves reverence. It’s not just a date on the calendar — it’s sacred ground.
We didn’t just demand this holiday, but we’ve always asked for the truth to be told. We tried, for years, to work with city leaders to create space for honest reckoning and partnership. But for too long, those conversations never came.
Still, we kept showing up.
And now, finally, the silence has started to shift.
This day does not replace justice.
But it is a moment —
To remember those who were lost.
To honor those who survived.
To recommit ourselves to rebuilding what was stolen.
So today, let your remembrance be sacred.
Whether through prayer, quiet reflection, or sharing the truth with someone new — let it be yours. And know that you are not alone in carrying this history forward. And when you’re ready, we invite you to act — because remembrance without action is not enough.
Let today be our memorial.
And let tomorrow be our movement.
In love and solidarity,
Damario Solomon-Simmons, Esq., M.Ed.
Justice for Greenwood
Justice for Greenwood is a network of volunteers, advocates, attorneys, academics, experts, Massacre Survivors, Descendants, & others agitating for reparations & justice on behalf of Survivors and Descendants of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Our mission is to secure justice and reparations for the Greenwood community and Diaspora through direct services, public education, and advocacy. Our work aims to revitalize the Greenwood community and to address the major areas of racial inequality and injustice directly caused by the Massacre: Health, Education, Real Estate, and Business. There is no clearer, no uglier example of racial injustice and anti-Black racial terror (or violence) in America’s history than the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Just as horrendous as the white mob that attacked and entirely destroyed a peaceful, prosperous Black community in Tulsa, is that America intentionally denied that it happened and covered it up for nearly 100 years. Despite the undisputed facts around the Massacre and the generational damage that it caused, there has not been any constructive, tangible action taken to address and repair the catastrophic harm that it caused. We at Justice for Greenwood are building a movement to change all of that.
