Tulsa race massacre probe finds 1921 horror was 'coordinated, military-style attack'

The Justice Department provided new insight and chilling details about the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, describing the two-day raid that killed 300 Black residents and destroyed their businesses as a "coordinated, military-style attack" conducted by a white mob of over 10,000 people.

The DOJ released a 126-page report Friday following a four-month investigation into the attacks, which took place between May 31 and June 1 in 1921. In addition to the murders and property destruction, victims' money and personal property were stolen, and they were not provided with any aid.

The report concluded that the 1921 one-week investigation done by an agent of the Justice Department's Bureau of Investigation, the precursor to the FBI, was unfounded as it did not include key details about the violence, the victims and the perpetrators and implied Black men were responsible for the massacre.

"Contrary to the agent's 1921 report, the situation did not 'spontaneously' grow out of control," the new report said. "Rather, what had initially been sporadic and opportunistic violence became systematic, yielding a much more devastating result, due to coordinated efforts among white residents and law enforcement entities. Moreover, although the 1921 report asserts that the massacre (then called a riot) was not the result of 'racial feeling,' perpetrators of the massacre overtly expressed and acted upon racial bias."

Investigation provides detailed timeline of violence

At the time of the massacre, Tulsa was dubbed "Black Wall Street" due to the thriving businesses and community established by Black residents. However, white residents who lived in the city and nearby towns harbored a deep resentment, which built up in the years leading to the attack, the report said.

Investigators from the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division "spoke with survivors and with descendants of survivors, examined firsthand accounts of the massacre given by individuals who are now deceased, studied primary source materials, spoke to scholars of the massacre and reviewed legal pleadings, books, and scholarly articles relating to the massacre," according to the DOJ.

The investigation determined the attack was triggered by an unfounded condemnation alleging 19-year-old Dick Rowland assaulted a white woman who operated an elevator he used. The department said this tactic was commonly used to justify violence against Black residents.

After a local newspaper sensationalized the story, a mob of white Tulsans gathered outside the courthouse, demanding a lynching, according to the report.

When a local sheriff called a group of Black World War I veterans to come to the courthouse to prevent the lynching, the white mob grew, and a shot rang out, the investigation found.

The Tulsa police exacerbated the conflict by deputizing hundreds of white residents, many of whom were "advocating for a lynching and had been drinking," the report said.

"Law enforcement officers helped organize these special deputies -- as well as other white Tulsans -- into the martial forces that ravaged Greenwood. Over the next several hours, they looted, burned, and destroyed 35 city blocks while Greenwood's residents tried desperately to defend their homes," the report said.

"Some Black residents were shot (or otherwise assaulted), and many were arrested or detained," it continued. "Law enforcement actively participated in the destruction, disarming Black residents, confiscating their weapons, and detaining many in makeshift camps under armed guard."

By the morning of June 1, the violence and arsons had become "systematic."

Left with nothing

Although city officials offered to rebuild and help the victims, they not only failed to do so but put up barriers, the report said.

"White local leaders rejected outside aid, claiming they could handle the recovery, but then provided little to no financial support. Instead, claiming the area was best suited for industrial use, they imposed harsh new fire codes that priced residents out of the area, although a court later enjoined those provisions," the report said.

"Compounding the injustice, insurance companies denied Black residents of Greenwood compensation due to the 'riot clause' in their policies," it added. "Legal attempts to hold the city accountable also failed. Black residents of Tulsa were left with no avenue for redress."

No legal avenues left for justice

Due to the statute of limitations and the fact that the perpetrators and almost all of the survivors and witnesses of the attack are long dead, the Justice Department cannot take any legal action for the crimes committed, the report concluded.

"The report recognizes that some may find the department's inability to prosecute a painful or dissatisfying outcome," the DOJ said in a statement. "However, the review recognizes and documents the horrible events that occurred as well as the trauma and loss suffered by the residents of Greenwood."

Family members of survivors said they were not given notice of report

The DOJ said it would be meeting with Greenwood District officials, survivors and descendants of the Tulsa Race Massacre, the Tulsa civil rights community and other stakeholders to discuss the probe.

DOJ members held a meeting at the Historic Vernon AME Church in Tulsa on Saturday to discuss the report.

Damario Solomon-Simmons, an attorney for the family of two of the survivors, Lessie Benningfield Randle and Viola Fletcher, however, expressed disappointment with the DOJ, claiming they were not given notice about the report.

Solomon-Simmons said in a statement that he was only made aware of the report after his office saw news reports. Furthermore, he said his team was not told of Saturday's meeting at the church.

"Neither my legal team nor the massacre survivors will be able to attend due to time constraints amid our ongoing review and discussion with the DOJ," he said in a statement.

Solomon-Simmons said he and his team will have further comment after they review the report and speak with the DOJ.

The DOJ did not respond to ABC News' requests for comment about Solomon-Simmons' claims.

ABC News' Alexander Mallin contributed to this report.