Owens Black Wall Street Thesis

THE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF THE UNITED STATES TO GRANT

REPARATIONS TO GREENWOOD, OKLAHOMA FOLLOWING THE 1921

DESTRUCTION OF BLACK WALL STREET

A Thesis

submitted to the Faculty of the

Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

of Georgetown University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

degree of

Masters of Arts

in Conflict Resolution

By

Kayla Deigh Owens, B.A

Washington, DC

April 26, 2020

Copyright 2020 by Kayla Deigh Owens

All Rights Reserved

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THE SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF THE UNITED STATES TO GRANT

REPARATIONS TO GREENWOOD, OKLAHOMA FOLLOWING THE 1921

DESTRUCTION OF BLACK WALL STREET

Kayla Owens, B.A.

Thesis Advisor: Katherine Collin, Ph.D.

ABSTRACT

Why is it so difficult to get reparations for Greenwood? The United States has struggled with

giving reparations for certain groups although they are an international standard for human rights

outlined by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. However,

the United Nations does not address the issue of white supremacy, which I believe to be the

critical factor in addressing this question. My thesis addresses the issue of white supremacy and

specifically how it blocks groups that have experienced a violation of human rights such as a

massacre, from seeking justice in the form of reparations. Specifically, I will be looking at how

white supremacy influences the government and political structure of the United States, in order

to show why the Black victims of the Greenwood massacre have been denied justice for almost

100 years. I will discuss the failed attempts made by Black victims of the massacre to get

reparations against the successful attempts made by Japanese-Americans to receive reparations

after World War II. I will do this in order to reveal the previously misunderstood connections

between the United States and its inability to provide reparations through the appropriate legal,

state, and federal procedures. I argue that it is not the case that the United States cannot grant

reparations, but that the United States will not grant reparations for Black victims. In conclusion,

this thesis, by closely examining the connection between reparations and human rights, will shed

new light on the neglected issue of how whether or not reparations are provided in a given

instance depends on white supremacy and its impact on that instance.

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The research and writing of this thesis is

dedicated to everyone who helped along the way.

Many thanks,

Kayla Deigh Owens

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION¡­...¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­1

LITERATURE REVIEW¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­4

WHAT ARE REPARATIONS?......................................................................................................8

CONTEXTUAL BACKGROUND¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­...17

THE MASSACRE¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.24

AFTERMATH¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­...¡­¡­35

RED CROSS¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­...¡­..40

ALEXANDER V OKLAHOMA¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­...¡­..42

TULSA-GREENWOOD RACE RIOT CLAIMS ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2007¡­...¡­..49

JAPANESE INTERNMENT CAMPS AND THE CIVIL LIBERTIES ACT¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..51

CONCLUSION¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­...¡­..56

BIBLIOGRAPHY¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.62

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