Obama: 75th Kristallnacht anniversary a reminder of what silence in face of hatred can bring

[BumRushDaShow]

6. Hopefully one day

America will live up to its own similar tragedies - one notable one having occurred some 17 years before Kristallnacht, not in Europe, but right here in the U.S. in Tulsa, OK

The Tulsa race riot of 1921 was rarely mentioned in history books, classrooms or even in private. Blacks and whites alike grew into middle age unaware of what had taken place.

Ever since the story was unearthed by historians and revealed in uncompromising detail in a state government report a decade ago — it estimated that up to 300 people were killed and more than 8,000 left homeless — the black men and women who lived through the events have watched with renewed hope as others worked for some type of justice on their behalf.

But even as the city observed the 90th anniversary this month, the efforts to secure recognition and compensation have produced a mixed record of success.

The riot will be taught for the first time in Tulsa public schools next year but remains absent in many history textbooks across the United States. Civic leaders built monuments to acknowledge the riot, including a new Reconciliation Park, but in the wake of failed legislative and legal attempts, no payments were ever delivered for what was lost.


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/20/us/20tulsa.html?_r=0

R.I.P. to all victims of HATE everywhere in the world.