• NC Republicans Against Reparations  Bill
  

In 2001 for the first time ever, there was a national report by the state of Oklahoma saying, `We got it wrong. Blacks were not the cause. They were the victims and we owe them reparations.' And the reason that it's so important is because the story about Tulsa in 1921, '30s, '40s, '50s, '60s, all the way up until 2000 was different than the story that was finally revealed with evidence that had been suppressed, that had been concealed, and it finally came forward. So if people look at this report, they will see for the first time what happened and why this case is in court and see that there's a compelling case like in Greenwood, like with the Japanese-Americans, like with the victims of the Holocaust, that this is a case that cries out for relief. GORDON: And you do liken that to atrocities that we've seen before? Prof. OGLETREE: Indeed. In many respects because most people have never heard of Greenwood. Most people don't even know that blacks were murdered because of a race riot. Most people don't realize that prominent places like the Stratford Hotel, the Dreamland Theater, Buck Colbert Franklin's law office. He was John Hope Franklin, the great historian. His father's law office was burnt down. And now we can't deny that it happened and this is a case where the victims are alive and they've come forward now after many, many years of suffering in silence.

Click to read more ...