cross-posted from: https://piefed.social/post/411426
DoJ report acknowledges attack ‘was so systematic and coordinated that it transcended mere mob violence’
The DoJ’s findings acknowledged the role of Tulsa law enforcement in the massacre, including that of Tulsa police who “deputized hundreds of white residents, many of whom – immediately before being awarded a badge – had been drinking and agitating for [a lynching]”. According to the report, more than 500 men were deputized in less than 30 minutes.
he was told he “could now ‘go out and shoot any [N-word] you see and the law’ll be behind you’”.
Clearly the police saw that the problem was needing to recruit drunk citizens at a moment’s notice so they focused their efforts on endless increases in police funding, publicly promoting themselves as the lords and saviors of the public, and hiring enough officers that they could directly oppress the public at any time without needing to deputize randos.
And people say the police never cahngee!
As pointed out by others - the DOJ is no saint here, having sat on this information for a century. ALSO part of the problem.
The folks there now get some credit for releasing this. The folks in charge for the past 100 years not so much.
I realize that right up there is a DOJ report, but I read this article in about 2020 and found it at the time to be one of the most horrifyingly complete accounts of what happened that I’d seen.
