The Greenwood neighborhood known as Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Okla., was the site of one of the nation’s most heinous race riots in 1921 that not only killed hundreds of Black citizens but also undercut Black prosperity for generations to come.
This week it was the site to confront Tulsa’s latest racial spat that has raised tensions and put many Black residents into action. The Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network led a march and rally in the area Tuesday for a “National Prayer Call for Justice March” for police shooting victim Terence Crutcher.
The 40-year-old Black man was killed by Tulsa police officer Betty Shelby Sept. 16 after Crutcher’s car was stalled and someone called 911 to report his vehicle in the middle of the street blocking traffic. Dashboard camera video shows that Crutcher had his hands up when he was tased and Shelby fired. He was unarmed.
Shelby was charged with first-degree manslaughter and the shooting was later labeled a homicide. She was released on $50,000 bond.
Funeral services for Crutcher were held Saturday at Antioch Baptist Church. Reports indicate the service was attended by approximately 750 people.
Crutcher’s family, along with their attorneys Benjamin Crump and Damario Solomon Simmons, joined Sharpton at the rally.
“What has happened is the justice system broke down again, this time on a road in Tulsa,” Sharpton said. “We come to Tulsa as repairmen, not to fix the car but to fix the broken system that keeps breaking down.”
More than 1,000 demonstrators of all racial backgrounds marched from the Greenwood Cultural Center to Tulsa City Hall about a mile away. The Cultural Center is located in the area where the historic 1921 Tulsa race massacre took place that killed as many as 300 Black people and left more than 800 injured.
“We are not anti-white, we are not anti-police—we are anti-injustice,” Sharpton said to the crowd. “Some will try to march against us and rally against us.”
A rally also took place at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame that evening. Reports from Tulsa indicate that a small group of protesters were outside advocating for gun rights while having guns on them.
Crutcher’s four children took the stage and his 15-year-old daughter took the stage to discuss how her father’s death has affected her and her siblings.
“I remember when my dad, he would come in whether we was in the kitchen, in the room, and he would tickle you so hard that your side would start hurting,” she said. “Well, he’s not able to do that anymore. The pain that I feel now could never compare to [how] I felt because my dad loved me,” she said. “I’m so happy that I have a family that stands behind me and keeps me lifted up every day.”
Sharpton commended the Tulsa Police Department for releasing the full video of the incident, indicating that other cities either waited on doing so or did not release video at all in similar incidents. However, he let demonstrators know that there was a long road ahead to get justice.
“Tulsa is model and I congratulate you for the first step,” he said. “Now you have to go into the second step and the third step. What is going to be the disciplinary action? I want to know what is going to be done for his four children. Those children’s daddy was taken from them.”
Crutcher’s sister, Tiffany, said Tulsa demonstrators have set the tone in marching peacefully in the aftermath of the police shooting of her brother.
“We have to get mad and say that the chain breaks here, right here where Black Wall Street started—something that we’re known for,” she said. “But today we’re not going to be known for that. We’re going to be known for the city that caused healing across this country.”
