May 25, 2021 - Politics & Policy

Biden to visit Tulsa for centennial of Tulsa Race Massacre

Shawna Chen

Photo of Hughes Van Ellis sitting in a House committee — Hughes Van Ellis, a Tulsa Race Massacre survivor and World War II veteran, testifies before a House subcommittee hearing. Photo: Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

President Biden will visit Tulsa, Oklahoma, next week to mark the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, the White House said Tuesday.

Why it matters: The visit will conclude a weekend of events commemorating one of the worst mass killings in U.S. history. On May 31, 1921, a white mob torched 35 blocks of a Black neighborhood and killed an estimated 300 people. No one was charged in the killings, and survivors say the community never recovered.

Details of Biden's visit have not yet been made public.

The big picture: The last living survivors of the massacre testified before a House subcommittee last week, urging lawmakers to consider reparations for survivors and their descendants.

"I still see Black men being shot, Black bodies lying in the street. I still smell smoke and see fire. I still see Black businesses being burned. I still hear airplanes flying overhead. I hear the screams," 107-year-old Viola Fletcher said.

"I have lived through the massacre every day. Our country may forget this history, but I cannot."

Biden visited Tulsa twice as vice president, per Tulsa World.

Go deeper: 100 years after Tulsa Race Massacre, last living survivors urge U.S. to not forget

Add Axios on Google

Biden to visit Tulsa for centennial of Tulsa Race Massacre

What to read next