Photograph of the Oklahoma National Guard during the Tulsa Race Massacre

On May 31 and June 1, 1921, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, mobs of white residents brutally attacked the African American community of Greenwood, colloquially known as "Black Wall Street," in the deadliest racial massacre in U.S. history. Amidst the violence, both white rioters and the Oklahoma National Guard rounded up black residents of Greenwood and forced them to detention centers. More than 6,000 African Americans were interned at the Convention Hall, the Tulsa County Fairgrounds, and the baseball stadium McNulty Park. Some were held for as long as eight days.

A black-and-white photograph of the Oklahoma National Guard in front of a Tulsa, Oklahoma police station. Uniformed guardsmen at right are lined up in front of a row of cars. At lower left, guardsmen surround a tripod-mounted machine gun. The gun sits on a wheeled flatbed. At top right, several people congregate near the entrance to a building with "POLICE STATION" sign mounted above the door. There is loss at the top right and lower right corners of the photograph. The photograph is fused to cardstock along with objects 2019.95.7, 2019.95.8, and 2019.95.10.