Watch the following video about the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.

Pay close attention to the CAUSE and EFFECTS of historical events and trends.

The Role of the Police

Cause:

In “The Tulsa Race Riot,” written in 2001, author Scott Ellsworth explained that “Shortly after the fighting had broken out at the courthouse [on the night of May 31, 1921], a large number of whites - many of whom had only a little while earlier been members of the would-be lynch mob — gathered outside of police headquarters on Second Street."

"There, perhaps as many as five-hundred white men and boys were sworn-in by police officers as ‘Special Deputies.’ Some were provided with badges or ribbons indicating their new status. Many, it appears, also were given specific instructions. According to Laurel G. Buck, a white bricklayer who was sworn-in as one of these ‘Special Deputies,’ a police officer bluntly told him to ‘Get a gun and get a n******.’”

Ellsworth also recounted that Dick Bardon told investigators shortly after the riot that "a Tulsa police officer helped to dole out the guns that were taken" from the shelves of his sporting goods store across from the courthouse.

Effect:

In 2013, Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan announced that while he couldn't apologize for what police officers had done during the race riot, he was sorry that the "'Tulsa Police Department did not protect its citizens during those tragic days in 1921'" (Harper). Obviously, Chief Jordan has learned from historical mistakes that weren't his own and chose a different path for TPD today.

Ellsworth, Scott. "The Tulsa Race Riot." Tulsa Race Riot: A Report by the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. Okhistory.org, 28 Feb. 2001. Web. 4 Dec. 2016. <chrome-extension://ecnphlgnajanjnkcmbpancdjoidceilk/content/web/viewer.html?

file=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.okhistory.org%2Fresearch%2Fforms%2Ffreport.pdf>.Harper, David. "Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan Apologizes for Department Inaction in 1921 Race Riot." Tulsa World. BH Media Group, Inc., 22 Sept. 2013. Web. 04 Dec. 2016. <http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/local/tulsa-police-chief-chuck-jordan-apologizes-for-department-inaction-in/article_d95da515-fe21-5204-8012-6118ecd632c4.html>.