Hate Crimes in the Heartland

In May 1921, a white mob attacked and killed black citizens and, with the help of law enforcement, burned down the then well-to-do African American Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, known as Black Wall Street. In 2012, two white men rampaged through Greenwood, killing three people and wounding two others. Filmmaker Lyon explores both events, drawing parallels between the two. Legal experts, survivors of the incidents, historians, journalists, law enforcement, and Jesse Jackson explore the racial divide in Tulsa and the seeds of both hate crimes. Good use is made of survivor accounts, while historic footage graphically depicts the devastation to Greenwood and its beleaguered residents, making it clear that the 1921 episode was less a riot than a massacre. Some tangential discussion of the death penalty feels tacked on; otherwise, the interviews, commentary, and images work well.