TULSA, Okla. — The U.S. Department of Justice finally concluded its three-month review of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, releasing its findings on Jan. 10.
On Jan. 11, the Assistant U.S. Attorney General met with members of the Greenwood community at the historic Vernon AME Church to discuss the report.
The DOJ met with survivors and descendants, also reviewing evidence and historical information on the race massacre.
The OSU Tulsa Library provided key historical documents to the team.
When asked how she felt helped tell this history, the library’s director, Lynn Wallace, told 2 News, “An archival collection is more than just an item of materials. It tells a history of a community. It tells the history of people.”
The 123-page report details what led to the massacre and what followed, as well as the impacts on the Greenwood community.
Previous Coverage >>> REPORT: DOJ says no avenue of prosecution exists for Tulsa Race Massacre
It specifically mentions that the City of Tulsa resisted offers of meaningful help to the victims and utterly failed to provide necessary aid or assistance.
Despite the gravity of the findings, the DOJ said no avenue of prosecution exists for crimes that occurred during the massacre. The youngest possible defendants would be more than 115 years old. Relevant statutes of limitations also ended decades ago.
If the crimes happened in the present day, the DOJ said federal prosecutors could have pursued hate crime charges against the massacre's perpetrators, including public officials and private citizens.
When asked if the report and the community meeting with Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke helped heal any of the wounds, Heather Nash, a massacre descendant, told 2 News, “Yeah, because I think it puts the report in cement for us for years to come so that we know that there's an opportunity for the future children of America to be able to read and know that this happened and maybe not ever repeat it again.”
2 News received a statement from Damario Solomon-Simmons, the lead attorney for the survivors.
He said in part: “Although we were made aware on short notice of the DOJ’s plans for a community meeting today in Tulsa, neither my legal team nor the massacre survivors will be able to attend due to time constraints amid our ongoing review and discussion with the DOJ. We look forward to meeting with the community and the press to discuss the report’s findings when the process is complete.”
To read the review’s full findings, click here.
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