Tulsa church spared in 1921 riot added to National Register

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A church that was spared destruction during the 1921 Tulsa race riots has been added to the National Register for Historic Places.

The Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church is in the Greenwood District of Tulsa where the riots took place in May and June 1921.

Whites attacked blacks and destroyed buildings in the area known as “Black Wall Street” after a black man was accused of assaulting a white woman. An estimated three dozen to 300 people were killed.

The Oklahoma Historical Society said Thursday that the church is a testament to the resilience of the district and is “significant in the understanding of race relations in the United States under legal segregation.”

The National Register of Historic Places is the nation’s official list of significant properties.