LOCAL EVENTS
The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre began with rumors about an incident with a young black man named Dick Rowland who was riding in an elevator with a white woman named Sarah Page, according to the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum website. Tulsa police arrested Rowland the following day, and an article in the May 31 Tulsa Tribune was the catalyst for a confrontation between black and white armed mobs around the courthouse where the sheriff had his men barricaded on the top floor with Rowland. The outnumbered African Americans began retreating to the Greenwood District. The next morning Greenwood was attacked by white rioters who burned and looted the area. The violence lasted only 24 hours but led to the destruction of 35 city blocks, 800 injured people and 36 deaths. Anita Azenet and Joe Fikes wrote a screenplay, Tulsa ‘21, that is a blend of fact and fiction, which dives further into the relationship between Rowland and Page. There will be a staged reading at 6 p.m. on Feb. 8 at the Price Center, featuring Cleofas Soto as Rowland, Mike Gassaway as McNally, the lead antagonist, and Bi- anca Collins as Page.
“The elevator malfunctioned,” Azenet said. “When it malfunctioned, they were thrown literally together, and she hurt her foot, and that’s fact. The elevator doors open, and they’re saying that the young man was trying to assault the young woman.”
