Today marks the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Burned, buried, and denied for years by the white perpetrators of this crime against humanity, this chapter of U.S. history is only now coming to light. The truth is being made known.
Like many of you, I was never taught about this horrific tragedy. None of my history classes ever mentioned it. Only in the last 20 years has the truth of this chapter of our nation’s racist behavior come into public consciousness. Exacerbating this event’s physical, financial, and emotional trauma, insurance companies refused to pay for property losses, and the victims were arrested and charged by the government officials who had themselves authorized the massacre. Then last year, the murder of George Floyd coincided with the Tulsa Massacre’s 99th anniversary and led many of us to shout, “No more, not in my name!”
While I cannot claim perfection, nor can I declare that I have not been complicit in injustice and violence, today I stand in my humanity and proclaim: I stand for love, love that embraces truth, love that heals wounds, and love that bridges the past and the present. Today, I call on all of us to bring the divine love of our being to the enormous gulf of discord in the human mind. Love is the answer, always.