By John Johnson II
To commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the May 31, 1921 Tulsa Massacre, President Biden was invited to be the guest speaker. Biden paid homage to the fact that he’s the first President to participate in this event. But from that moment, what made him think that Tulsa’s Black citizens and the remaining descendants wanted to be eulogized?
President Biden’s passionate words were merely an empty acknowledgment of the horrific murdering and firebombing of the defenseless Black Tulsa citizens. He pointed out that the white mobs were aided by Tulsa officials. Though these same facts have been known for years, he never once mentioned that he would use the power of the presidency to make some measure of atonement for these crimes.
Tulsa’s Black citizens demands, and protests for decades have been ignored at both the local and federal levels. This community deserves and needs to be provided technical and financial assistance to rebuild their once thriving town hailed as the “Black Wall Street.” The Madison Plan rebuilt Europe at a cost of $13 billion. The government spent $700 billion(TARP) in 2008 to prevent a collapse of the banking system.
Flip the page, just after the recent eleven days war between Palestine and Israel, President Biden pledged to donate millions to replenish Israel’s Iron Dome defense system and humanitarian aid to help Palestine. Since development of the Iron Dome System, the U.S. has donated at least $1.6 billion to support Israel’s defense.
Let’s examine another act of generosity using taxpayers’ dollars. The Federal Government donates more than $1 billion to provide Foreign Assistance to Latin America and the Caribbean. Yet, America is still besieged by illegal immigration. Tulsa’s Greenwood District has never appeared as a line item in the Federal or Local budgets.
Tulsa’s Blacks massacred get eulogized, Israel and Palestine get millions. Didn’t Vice President Harris notice this glaring difference of treatment toward Black Tulsans? Biden never hesitated to alert Obama in order to prevent him from failing to address a serious social issue.
Vice President Harris must continuously prove not merely by her rhetoric but also by her actions that she’s watching out for all American, especially Blacks. If it’s not by design, why do Blacks continue to suffer from neglect at both local and Federal levels? Foreign countries are treated far better with funds generated by U.S. taxpayers, which includes Black Americans!
If racism isn’t systemic in America, why do the three remaining living descendants of Tulsa’s Blacks massacred and its other Black citizens continue to be ingratiated with parades, flying banners, platitudes, and yes, a eulogy?
