[CW: antiblack racism, antiblack violence, slurs and depictions of violence in linked articles]
I can’t speak about Tulsa, but Rosewood is local to me, and I can share some information I’ve collected for those who want to know more about it.
(Disclaimer: I’m not an expert; I’m just a local hobbyist historian who’s made a point to track down links and share them.)
Rosewood is almost nonexistent in the community memory. I learned about it in passing in school when I was younger because I had a teacher who cared, but most people have absolutely no clue. The town was completely forgotten for a long time, before the history was rediscovered a few decades ago and there came some interest in preserving what was left of the site. Local Black organizing has done quite a bit to get the history more recognized, but it’s still an uphill battle.
As the above tweets say, Rosewood was a predominately Black town that was destroyed over a weeklong period in January of 1923, after a white woman falsely accused a Black man of rape. There’s a fairly comprehensive article about the town and its history on Wikipedia here. Here’s a link to the Rosewood page on BlackPast.org, as well.
The last remaining original building is for sale as of May 2018 for $500,000. There have been threats made by locals against any Black people who may be interested in purchasing the site, though the current owner of the building, a Japanese woman who was unaware of the history when she first moved in, has been firm in saying she hopes to sell to someone who understands and values the history of the town.
Locals have also been known to threaten and harass school trips to the area, and the sole historical marker for the town has been repeatedly vandalized.
People are actively, to this day, trying to erase the history of what happened there. Fortunately, there are local archaeologists and historians working on uncovering and preserving more of the town. There has been discussion of purchasing the house to turn into a museum, though interested parties haven’t been able to raise the money. I’ve had my ear to the ground in case any crowdfunding efforts crop up, but I haven’t heard anything yet–I’ll be sure to share if anything does go up.
If you can stomach reading more, here are some links from local news sources and historical orgs about the town, what happened, and the current status of the site. I’ve also included a link to the book mentioned in one of the articles:
Remembering Rosewood (the link from the original tweet in the above post)
PHOTOS: Rosewood’s History
Longest-living Rosewood survivor: ‘I’m not angry’
Longest living Rosewood Massacre survivor dies at 98
PHOTOS: Last Known Rosewood House
Up For Sale: A Rare Link to the History of Rosewood
Remember the History of Rosewood
The Last House in Rosewood
Virtual Rosewood Research Project
The Rosewood Massacre: An Archaeology and History of Intersectional Violence ($9.99 Kindle ebook)
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