Oh, how easily we forget…

The News

Oh, how easily we forget…

News outlets all over the country are calling the Virginia Tech massacre the deadliest shooting in modern American history.

But as one writer points out, this is another example of how mainstream media works to forget our painful history of race and violence.

I wish that AP, MSNBC and other news outlets would be intellectually accurate and honest. The “deadliest mass shooting” or “deadliest shooting rampage” in our nation’s history occurred on June 1, 1921 in the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Tulsa Race Riot, also known as the 1921 Race Riot, the Tulsa Race War, or the Greenwood Riot, was a large-scale civil disorder. During the 16 hours of rioting, over 800 people were admitted to local hospitals with injuries, an estimated 10,000 were left homeless, 35 city blocks composed of 1,256 residences were destroyed by fire, and $1.8 million (nearly $17 million after adjustment for inflation) in property damage.
Our glorious Black Wall Street was destroyed in the carnage of that day.

39 people were officially reported killed, although most experts agree that the actual number of Black citizens killed during the riot to be around 300.

This isn’t an effort to compare horrendous situations. Rather, it is part of the continuing effort in the Electronic Village and elsewhere to ensure that OURstory isn’t ignored or forgotten as others write his-story…

While we mourn for those murdered this week in Virginia, we ask you not allow the Tulsa Race War murders to be swept under the rug of distorted, revised, and repressed history. We must never forget, and we must not allow others to forget either.

Posted at 9:59 AM, Apr 17, 2007 in Permalink | View Comments

Comments

[i]But as one writer points out, this is another example of how mainstream media works to forget our painful history of race and violence.[/i]

That's just silly. I see no concerted effort to suppress this. Do you have any evidence for such a thing or are you simply dropping rhetoric that others can bob their head to?

Those riots (and others, such as the Native American killings that Vox mentioned) are certainly tragic, but that's a separate type of incident that simply isn't discussed when spree killings such as this recent VT episode occur because they are of a different nature. Why not discuss them? Because they're not immediately relevant. Things like the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania or of course Columbine/Littleton are more relevant because they may provide more information/stimulate discussions to (hopefully) reduce the incidence of future events.

Moreover, the killings in Virginia were the work of one deranged individual whereas the killings in Tulsa were officially sanctioned!