Summary
This lesson is intended to help students develop a deeper understanding of the causes of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Students begin by observing historical photos and making inferences about them. They then build on their knowledge by watching a video that includes primary sources and interviews with experts, and they further their understanding by reading an excerpt about the Tulsa Race Massacre that provides some historical context for the time period and taking a virtual tour of John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park. Students conclude the lesson by returning to their initial observations and revising them based on what they've learned.
Essential Question(s)
How do we know what happened during a historic event, such as the Tulsa Race Massacre?
Snapshot
Engage
Students look at a series of photos from the Tulsa Race Massacre and use a graphic organizer to caption the series as a whole based on what they can infer.
Explore
Students watch a short video clip covering the events of the Tulsa Race Massacre and think about how the information in the video helps add context and understanding to the photos from the previous activity.
Explain
Students use a close-reading strategy to review an excerpt about the events leading up to, during, and just after the Tulsa Race Massacre.
Extend
Students take a virtual tour of John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park, which memorializes the Tulsa Race Massacre.
Evaluate
Students go back to their graphic organizers and revisit their original captions. They make changes to the captions based on their new knowledge and understanding. The graphic organizer can also serve as a formative assessment.
Materials
Lesson slides (attached)
Caption This graphic organizer (attached; one per student)
Images of the Tulsa Race Massacre (viewable in the lesson slides)
Tulsa Race Massacre Reading Passage (attached; one per student)
Engage
Use the attached Lesson Slides to guide the instruction, beginning with slide 2. Briefly read the lesson objectives. Ask students to think about the following question: How do we know what happened during the Tulsa Race Massacre? Pass out the attached Caption This graphic organizer.
Display slide 3, which includes the first photo in a series of photos of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Ask students to think about what they are seeing in the photo. Give them about 30 seconds to do so. Repeat the same process for the photos on slides 4 and 5. Ask students to share with a partner what they think is happening in the photos, giving them a minute or two to discuss.
Show slide 6, featuring all of the photos on one slide. Ask each pair to write a one-sentence caption in the top box of their graphic organizer, answering the question: Based on inferences from these pictures, what conclusions can you make about what the photos say about this time in our history? Ask a few pairs to share out their answers and have a brief discussion about the pictures and things that they noticed, also answering any questions that students might have. Transition to the next activity by telling students that they are going to keep building on their knowledge of what happened in the pictures.
Explore
Display slide 7. The video that students are about to watch will help them understand what was happening in the previous activity's photos. As they watch, tell students to use the second box of their Caption This graphic organizer to jot down notes from the video that add information and understanding.
After the video is over, ask students to share the new information they wrote down with their partner. If their partner caught something that also adds to their understanding, have students add these details to their own notes. Ask the students to quickly discuss how this video helped them understand what happened in Tulsa. Invite a few students to share out what they picked up from the video, and answer any questions they may have. Again, transition to the next activity by telling students that they are going to keep building on their knowledge of what happened in the photos and video.
Explain
Display slide 8. Pass out copies of the Tulsa Race Massacre Reading Passage handout. This reading comes from the Oklahoma Historical Society. As they read, students will use Why-Lighting to highlight any part of the reading that they think is critical to their understanding of what happened immediately before, during, or immediately after the Tulsa Race Massacre. For any passage that they highlight, students should note the reason why in the margin, providing a brief explanation of why it is a critical piece of information to help their understanding.
After giving students sufficient time (around 10–15 minutes) to complete their reading and Why-Lighting, have them reunite with their partners. Display slide 9. Tell students to share what they highlighted and why with their partner. Have them fully explain how the passages they highlighted helped them build understanding about what happened. Ask students to also discuss how the information from the text might help them answer the lesson's Essential Question: "How do we know what happened during the Tulsa Race Massacre?"
Invite some students to share out what they highlighted and why. If there is any additional information you need to provide your students about the Tulsa Race Massacre, do so now before moving on to the next part of the activity.
Extend
Display slide 10. Tell students that they are going to take a virtual tour of John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park. The park memorializes the Tulsa Race Massacre and is a result of the 2001 Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.
Before beginning the tour, ask students to think about why our country memorializes events. Remind students to jot down notes in their Caption This graphic organizers regarding any information from the tour that helps them understand what happened in Tulsa, as well as anything that might help them answer the previous question about why we memorialize events.
Start the virtual tour at Hope Plaza. Point out the three main statues: Humiliation, Hostility, and Hope. Provide some brief information about why each was chosen, and show the original image that each statue was based on. (Click the image or the i next to each statue to see additional information.) Give students a minute or two to take notes on their graphic organizers, and then ask a few students to share what they have written down.
Next, move on to the Tower of Reconciliation. After showing the tower and giving some context about it, select Story Board Panels 7: Great Greenwood and 8: Greenwood Burned from the menu in the upper-left portion of the page. You can either read what is on the panels or ask the students to read independently. Again, students should jot down notes on their graphic organizers. Ask a few students to share what they have written down.
Now move to the Tower of Reconciliation. Return to the menu and select the "Statehood, Black Wall Street, Success, and Statehood" and "1921 Race Holocaust Pogrom" options. Ask students to look at these parts of the tower closely and make notes on their graphic organizers.
Conclude the activity with a class discussion, inviting students to explain why they think Americans memorialize events and why different elements they observed were included in this memorial.
Evaluate
Display slide 11. Have students go back to their Caption This graphic organizers. Ask them to use the information they have learned through each of the previous activities to write one final caption for the series of photos. The students' final captions, along with all of the content in their graphic organizers, will serve as formative assessments for the lesson.
Resources
Brooks, R., Brophy, A., Ellsworth, S., Franklin, J., Goble, D., O’Dell, L., Rankin-Hill, L., Snow, C., Stubblefield, P., Warner, R., & Witten, A. (2001). Oklahoma commission to study the Tulsa race riot of 1921, prepared by the commission for the Oklahoma state legislature, T. D. Churchwell, chairman. Oklahoma History Center. https://www.okhistory.org/research/forms/freport.pdf
Ellsworth, S. (n.d.). Tulsa race massacre. The encyclopedia of Oklahoma history and culture. https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=TU013
Center, J. (n.d.). John Hope Franklin Center for Reconciliation (http://www.jhfcenter.org/reconciliation-park/). Retrieved June 15, 2020, from http://www.panowalks.com/embed/7izaQPRaovbF5JjZm8KtkyrzkzD4/
K20 Center. (n.d.). Caption this. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/7b4de59085f566aa097814b8c0036253
K20 Center. (n.d.). Why-lighting. Strategies. https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/strategy/d9908066f654727934df7bf4f505e7d5
THIRTEEN. (2019, April 18). Greenwood and the Tulsa race riots | BOSS: The black experience in business | PBS. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/-yceK9LHFSA