Oklahoma's Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters denied on Thursday that race was the main reason behind the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921 that saw up to 300 people killed and left thousands of Black residents displaced.
Tulsa was known at the time for its thriving African American community in the Greenwood District where Black professionals ran multiple businesses. Because the business district was booming and thriving, it was often referred to as the Black Wall Street.
Walters was invited by the Cleveland County Republican Party to speak at the Norman Central Library when he had a heated exchange with attendees. The superintendent first spoke about his policies when he made remarks that some attendees found inappropriate and left the room in response, according to local news station Fox 25.
"It doesn't matter how much the radical left attacks me," Walters said during the public forum. "It doesn't matter how much the teachers union spends against me. I will never stop speaking truth."
During the event, one attendee then asked Walters, who reportedly supports banning certain books from school, about whether the Tulsa Race Massacre falls under his definition of critical race theory (CRT), which denotes that systemic racism is part of American institutions such as the criminal justice system and the education system.
"Let's not tie it to the skin color and say that the skin color determined that," Walters said, which angered some attendees, with one woman saying, "This divisive rhetoric, the kids are watching this. The kids are watching this."
Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons, an executive director at Justice for Greenwood, denounced Walters' remarks and said that it's "beyond belief" for a top elected education official to say that. Walters, who was endorsed by GOP Senator Ted Cruz, also served as the Oklahoma Secretary of Education between September 2020 and April 2023.
"He's misinformed and this is a disgusting comment and it's so inaccurate and false," Solomon-Simmons told Newsweek. "The massacre was all about the skin color of the Black people who were destroyed. The [white mob] call Greenwood N-word town. They said they wanted to run the Blacks out of Tulsa."
Solomon-Simmons added that Walters' statement has a "chilling impact" on education across the state as he has been leading change across schools and trying to "ensure that nothing about race and discrimination is being discussed" inside classrooms.
"They [Walters and similar leaders] do not want the truth to be told. They don't want the true history, not just the history of Black people, but the history of those who have oppressed, discriminated against, beaten, lynched, killed, and destroyed Black people," the attorney said. "He said he doesn't want anyone to feel bad for what occurred because of their skin color, but what he's really saying is he doesn't want the children of Oklahoma to have humanity."
www.newsweek.com
Tulsa was known at the time for its thriving African American community in the Greenwood District where Black professionals ran multiple businesses. Because the business district was booming and thriving, it was often referred to as the Black Wall Street.
Walters was invited by the Cleveland County Republican Party to speak at the Norman Central Library when he had a heated exchange with attendees. The superintendent first spoke about his policies when he made remarks that some attendees found inappropriate and left the room in response, according to local news station Fox 25.
"It doesn't matter how much the radical left attacks me," Walters said during the public forum. "It doesn't matter how much the teachers union spends against me. I will never stop speaking truth."
During the event, one attendee then asked Walters, who reportedly supports banning certain books from school, about whether the Tulsa Race Massacre falls under his definition of critical race theory (CRT), which denotes that systemic racism is part of American institutions such as the criminal justice system and the education system.
"Let's not tie it to the skin color and say that the skin color determined that," Walters said, which angered some attendees, with one woman saying, "This divisive rhetoric, the kids are watching this. The kids are watching this."
Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons, an executive director at Justice for Greenwood, denounced Walters' remarks and said that it's "beyond belief" for a top elected education official to say that. Walters, who was endorsed by GOP Senator Ted Cruz, also served as the Oklahoma Secretary of Education between September 2020 and April 2023.
"He's misinformed and this is a disgusting comment and it's so inaccurate and false," Solomon-Simmons told Newsweek. "The massacre was all about the skin color of the Black people who were destroyed. The [white mob] call Greenwood N-word town. They said they wanted to run the Blacks out of Tulsa."
Solomon-Simmons added that Walters' statement has a "chilling impact" on education across the state as he has been leading change across schools and trying to "ensure that nothing about race and discrimination is being discussed" inside classrooms.
"They [Walters and similar leaders] do not want the truth to be told. They don't want the true history, not just the history of Black people, but the history of those who have oppressed, discriminated against, beaten, lynched, killed, and destroyed Black people," the attorney said. "He said he doesn't want anyone to feel bad for what occurred because of their skin color, but what he's really saying is he doesn't want the children of Oklahoma to have humanity."
Oklahoma superintendent denies race caused Tulsa Massacre
Ryan Walters was invited by the Cleveland County Republican Party to speak at an event on Thursday when he had a heated exchange with attendees.
www.newsweek.com
