The U.S. Department of Justice published the first federal review of the Tulsa Race Massacre on Friday in an effort to correct the historical record on the deadly attack on a vibrant Black community in Oklahoma.
The report said it was “clear that no avenue of prosecution now exists for these crimes” but added that the DOJ sought to preserve a historical record of the 1921 massacre. The report, which was highly anticipated by advocacy groups and locals, was announced in September and released in the final days of Joe Biden’s presidency.
“Until this day, the Justice Department has not spoken publicly about this race massacre or officially accounted for the horrific events that transpired in Tulsa,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a release. “This report lays bare new information and shows that the massacre was the result not of uncontrolled mob violence, but of a coordinated, military-style attack on Greenwood.”