Oklahoma awards first Tulsa race riot scholarships - noteworthy news - Brief Article

Black Issues in Higher Education, July 3, 2003

TULSA, OKLA.

The first college, scholarships meant to ensure the 21 Tulsa race riot is not forgotten have been awarded to 20 students.

Two seniors from nine public high schools and one charter school in Tulsa will each receive $1,000.

The Tulsa Reconciliation Scholarships are funded by $20,000 in state appropriations. An additional $30,000 is being set aside in a trust fund for future scholarships.

"Nobody can change what happened in Tulsa, but some good things can still come out of bad situations," says higher education Chancellor Paul Risser. "We are pleased to honor these students with the state's first Tulsa Reconciliation Scholarships. Their character and conduct contribute to greater communication and understanding among persons of diverse backgrounds."

At least three dozen people died when the fighting broke out May 31, 1921, and continued into the next day. The riot began when a White mob clashed with Blacks who wanted to help protect a Black man who had been arrested in an alleged assault on a White elevator operator. The man, 19-year-old Dick Rowland, was never prosecuted. When the smoke cleared the next day, the city's Black business district lay in ashes.

To be eligible for the scholarships, students must be enrolled in the Tulsa public high school from which they were nominated and their family income cannot exceed $70,000.

--Associated Press