Many have grappled with how to measure the cost of what happened here in 1921. The most tragic consequence of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, however, the one that gives it the unfortunate distinction of being the worst incident of racial violence in American history was the number of lives lost.

The violence began at Tulsa's downtown courthouse late in the evening of May 31. It was sparked by a confrontation between a large white mob and a smaller group of black men. The group of black men, about seventy-five in number, had come to the courthouse determined to prevent the lynching of Dick Rowland, a teenager who was being held in the courthouse jail. During a brief altercation between the two groups, a white man attempted to disarm a Black war veteran. A gun went off. At that moment, in the word of the Tulsa sheriff and many others, all hell broke loose. A shooting war erupted. In the first exchange, several on both sides. Massively outnumbered, the Black group withdrew, racing back to the Greenwood District some seven blocks away. Within minutes, several more Black men were beaten, stabbed, and shot as they tried to reach safety.

The white agitators spent the next few hours working to increase their numbers and their firepower. They successfully recruited more white residents by the thousands, spreading the lie that a Black insurrection was underway, a falsehood that lingered for years afterward. These white instigators also set out to arm the growing mob. First they stormed the local military armory, filled with guns and bullets. This effort was foiled by the armory's guard commander. Unfazed, the mob resorted to looting downtown sporting goods stores and pawn shops, successfully pillaging their caches of weapons and ammunition.

Throughout the night, gun battles raged, with many concentrated along the Frisco railroad tracks, the geographic dividing line that separated white and Black Tulsa. Armed Black men successfully fought off whites from invading the Greenwood District, but only until dawn. By sunrise, the ranks of the white mob reached as many as 15,000, and simply overwhelmed the Greenwood District defenders. By 6 a.m. on June 1, no one was safe in the Greenwood District. Marauding groups shot Black Tulsans on sight, breaking into homes and businesses, hunting for victims.

Tulsa law enforcement not only failed to protect its' Black residents, they legitimized the murder and mayhem by deputizing as many as five hundred white members of the mob. One officer even assured these invaders that the law would be behind them if they shot any given Negro. In the end, he was correct. Not a single person was successfully prosecuted for murder or any violent crime in connection with the massacre.

Death toll estimates at the time varied widely, ranging from the mid-twenties to over three hundred. Over a century later, these numbers remain a matter of speculation and dispute. With funerals banned in the wake of the massacre and many missing residents unaccounted for, a final death toll could never be confirmed. To this day, efforts to locate unmarked mass graves continue.