Transcript - Remarks: Joe Biden Tours the Greenwood Cultural Center in Tulsa - June 1, 2021 | Factba.se

Joe Biden

00:00:00 - 00:00:02 ()

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:00:02 - 00:00:28 ()

Hi, Mr. President Biden. The Greenwood Cultural Center is honored to walk you through this [Inaudible]. There are several photographs I'd like to highlight. For the past 30 years, we have worked to acknowledge the history of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and Black Wall Street. The work in this pictorial exhibit is based largely on the writings of former State Representative Don Ross.

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:00:28 - 00:00:58 ()

And this land where we stand now is considered sacred ground. This was once home to Black Wall Street. In this image, which is dated 1917, you can see Black-owned businesses [Audio gap]. There were dentists' offices, attorneys' offices, hotels, movie theaters. There were restaurants, nightclubs, schools, churches, anything you can imagine wanting or needing in your community.

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:00:58 - 00:01:25 ()

In 1921, the Black community had here in the Greenwood district the most prosperous, successful Black-owned business district in the country during that time. All of that would change on May 31, 1921. This image here is of Mount Zion Baptist Church.

Joe Biden

00:01:25 - 00:01:25 ()

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:01:25 - 00:01:56 ()

And Mount Zion, it's just to the west of the Greenwood Cultural Center. In this image prior to the massacre, which took place here, you can see the -- this is actually the church prior to the massacre, and as this is its flames. The massacre took place here 100 years ago due to the false allegation that a Black man, Dick Rowland, had assaulted a young white girl named Sarah Page.

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:01:56 - 00:02:15 ()

Within 24 hours, the community would be completely destroyed at the hands of thousands of white riders who invaded the Greenwood district who burned more than a thousand homes to the ground, 35 square blocks of property, at least 300 people lost their lives, and 300 Black-owned businesses would be completely destroyed.

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:02:15 - 00:02:28 ()

More than $2.7 million in insurance claims were filed by Black homeowners and business owners. Every single insurance plan was denied because it did not contain a riot clause.

Joe Biden

00:02:28 - 00:02:31 ()

It wasn't a riot, it was a massacre.

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:02:31 - 00:02:32 ()

It was a massacre.

Joe Biden

00:02:32 - 00:02:35 ()

Thirty-five [Inaudible]

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:02:35 - 00:02:37 ()

Joe Biden

00:02:37 - 00:02:39 ()

When was this [Inaudible]

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:02:39 - 00:03:05 ()

It was rebuilt in the 50s. So they had just finished building this structure, which was valued at $92,000 in 1921 -- in April of 1921. Rioters destroyed the church, accusing them of hiding weapons in the armory inside the church. Of course, they were not. The church decided to stay and rebuild in the Greenwood district.

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:03:05 - 00:03:33 ()

And this is the church that stands today. What many people don't know about the story of the Greenwood district is that by 1925, the African-American community had completely rebuilt the Greenwood district without the help or support of city officials, the city of Tulsa, with many obstacles to overcome, including ordinances that tried to prevent them from rebuilding their homes and businesses, Greenwood would rise from the ashes.

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:03:33 - 00:03:49 ()

And we saw the return -- and as you can see in this photograph, the return of Black-owned businesses. And in fact, there were more Black-owned businesses following the massacre than prior to. These are all Black-owned businesses lining the streets of the Greenwood district.

Joe Biden

00:03:49 - 00:03:51 ()

Excuse me, please.

Unidentified

00:03:51 - 00:03:53 ()

[Inaudible] from.

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:03:53 - 00:03:55 ()

Joe Biden

00:03:55 - 00:03:55 ()

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:03:55 - 00:04:21 ()

And this speaks to our ancestors' courage to their strength, to their determination, and to their resiliency. It would be my honor to escort you to three of our living survivors who -- with lived experiences who can speak to what they have endured as a result of the 1925 Tulsa Race Massacre.

Joe Biden

00:04:21 - 00:04:33 ()

May I ask you a question? What happened between 1925 and 1950? In the highway of [Inaudible]? What is the [Inaudible]? What was the big change?

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:04:33 - 00:04:55 ()

The expressway used to divide the Greenwood district, which ran through the heart of the Greenwood district came a little later than the 50s, but several things led to the decline of the Greenwood district. They, of course, rebuilt and Greenwood would flourish through the 30s and the 40s. But significant -- one significant thing that happened was the end of segregation.

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:04:55 - 00:05:22 ()

The dollar, which has circulated in this community up to at least 19 times was now being spent in white-owned establishments. And when we asked our survivors why they began to spend their money outside of their community, they said, well, we had that right to begin our dollar in white-owned businesses and stores, the restaurants, and we wanted to exercise that right, not understanding the long-term consequences that it would have on the small business owners house in the Greenwood district.

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:05:22 - 00:05:28 ()

So the end of segregation, of course, the expressway being built through the heart of the --

Joe Biden

00:05:28 - 00:05:29 ()

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:05:29 - 00:05:32 ()

Black business district, which is something that has happened across our country.

Joe Biden

00:05:32 - 00:05:58 ()

It happened in my city. My city, Wilmington, Delaware, where the large Black population of America in Delaware. And the city is more than half African-Americans. And when Dr. King was assassinated, the rights, and it ended up a significant [Inaudible] guard station on the street with every corner withdrawn and it's for two months.

Joe Biden

00:05:58 - 00:06:20 ()

The only city in America since reconstruction. The [Inaudible] building where [Inaudible] was burned in the Westside, it built I-95 [Inaudible] there, and it has -- it's submerged some place of the Bridge [Inaudible]. That's one of the reasons -- I mean, I'm very serious in this reconstruction plan at the beginning.

Joe Biden

00:06:20 - 00:06:39 ()

We have the ability to have money to go back and take out those facilities and reconstruct them. What we're trying to do is do a lot of things like, you know, a big day [Inaudible] and have -- make that part protecting the neighborhood. It's something that, I don't know, [Inaudible].

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:06:39 - 00:06:57 ()

Well, it would be significant for this community because you, of course, know what happened when you go to the expressway through the heart of a business district, because property values to decline, small business owners begin to relocate, and eventually, urban renewal would come through, which often refer to as urban removal.

Joe Biden

00:06:57 - 00:06:58 ()

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:06:58 - 00:07:09 ()

The promise at one point was to completely rebuild this community that exact -- that didn't exactly happen. What we have now today at the corner of Greenwood and Archer is a remnant of what once was.

Joe Biden

00:07:09 - 00:07:12 ()

Yep. I'll go this way.

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:07:12 - 00:07:15 ()

I'd like to escort you to the survivors.

Joe Biden

00:07:15 - 00:07:15 ()

Are you from Greenwood?

Mechelle Brown-Burdex

00:07:15 - 00:07:22 ()

I am. I'm a Tulsa native, I've been here at the Greenwood Cultural Center for 25 years. This is my mid-20s, which is my last.

Joe Biden

00:07:22 - 00:07:22 ()

So you're in 50s?

Unidentified

00:07:22 - 00:07:23 ()

Question

00:07:23 - 00:07:36 ()

Mr. President, should there be an apology for the Tulsa -- for the massacre, sir? Mr. President, should there be an apology of president to apology for the massacre here in Tulsa?