A 19-year old Black man, named Dick Rowland strides down Main Street. Once an orphan with his two sisters, Rowland was adopted by his current family and raised by them in Tulsa. He played basketball at the local Booker T. Washington high school, before he dropped out to begin work as a shoe-shiner at a parlor on Main Street.
But right now, Rowland feels the call of nature. He exits the parlor and walks into a multi-story complex called the Drexel Building whose top floor bathroom is the only approved restroom for black workers on Main Street.
Operating the elevator is a 17 year old white teenager named Sarah Page. She watches Rowland enter. Rowland had used this elevator before. And Page had operated this elevator for Rowland in the past. This was a routine interaction. Something they had done before and should have continued doing without incident.
But what happens next, will change both their lives and Tulsa, Oklahoma forever.
This is the Tulsa Massacre of 1921.
Edited by Alyssa Deocampo.
Music Composed by Jaimie Pangan.
A special thank you to Michael Ghelfi who’s ambience YouTube channel provided the numerous sound effects that made the story come to life. Please check him out on YouTube for your sound effects needs!
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