[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1843 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1843

To provide a mechanism for a determination on the merits of the claims 
   brought by survivors and descendants of the victims of the Tulsa, 
  Oklahoma, Race Riot of 1921 but who were denied that determination.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 1, 2009

    Mr. Conyers (for himself, Mr. Nadler of New York, Mr. Scott of 
Virginia, Ms. Waters, Mr. Cleaver, Ms. Lee of California, Mr. Grijalva, 
and Ms. Jackson-Lee of Texas) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide a mechanism for a determination on the merits of the claims 
   brought by survivors and descendants of the victims of the Tulsa, 
  Oklahoma, Race Riot of 1921 but who were denied that determination.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``John Hope Franklin Tulsa-Greenwood 
Race Riot Claims Accountability Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) In 1921, Greenwood (a community in Tulsa, Oklahoma) was 
        one of the most prosperous African-American communities in the 
        United States. Serving over 8,000 residents, Greenwood's 
        commercial district was known nationally as the ``Negro Wall 
        Street''. The community boasted two newspapers, over a dozen 
        churches, and hundreds of African-American-owned businesses.
            (2) On the evening of May 31, 1921, the African-American 
        Greenwood community of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was ravaged by a White 
        mob. By the conclusion of the riot at midday, June 1, virtually 
        every building in a 42-square-block area of the community--
        homes, schools, churches, and businesses--was burned to the 
        ground and thousands were left homeless. Over 1,200 homes were 
        destroyed. Every church, school, and business in Greenwood was 
        set on fire. Approximately 8,000 African-Americans were left 
        homeless and penniless. Unable to rebuild, thousands of 
        residents spent the winter of 1921-1922 in tents.
            (3) Credible evidence supports the belief that up to 300 
        African-Americans were killed during the riot. As many victims 
        were buried in unmarked graves, an exact accounting is 
        impossible.
            (4) In the wake of the White mob destruction of the 
        Greenwood District, a State-convened grand jury officially 
        placed responsibility for the violence on the African-American 
        community, exonerating Whites of all responsibility. Neither 
        the State nor the city undertook any investigations or 
        prosecutions, and documents relating to the riot vanished from 
        State archives. Ultimately, no convictions were obtained for 
        the incidents of murder, arson, or larceny connected with the 
        riot.
            (5) None of the more than 100 contemporaneously filed 
        lawsuits by residents and property owners in Greenwood were 
        successful in recovering damages from insurance companies to 
        assist in the reconstruction of the community. After the city 
        attempted to block their redevelopment efforts, victims were 
        forced to rebuild with their own resources or abandon the 
        community.
            (6) State and local governments suppressed or ignored 
        issues and claims arising from the 1921 riot, effectively 
        excising it from collective memory, until the Oklahoma 
        Legislature created a commission to study the event in 1997. 
        The commission's February 28, 2001, report uncovered new 
        information and detailed, for the first time, the extent of 
        involvement by the State and city government in prosecuting and 
        erasing evidence of the riot (Okla. Stat. Tit. 74 Section 
        8000.1 (West 2005)).
            (7) The documentation assembled by The 1921 Tulsa Race Riot 
        Commission provides strong evidence that some local municipal 
        and county officials failed to take actions to calm or contain 
        the situation once violence erupted and, in some cases, became 
        participants in the subsequent violence, and even deputized and 
        armed many Whites who were part of a mob that killed, looted, 
        and burned down the Greenwood area.
            (8) Based on new information contained in the report, the 
        Greenwood claimants filed suit, pursuant to the laws codifed in 
        sections 1981, 1983, and 1985 of title 42 of the United States 
        Code and the 14th amendment, seeking damages for the injuries 
        sustained in the riot as a result of the government's 
        involvement. Their claims were dismissed as time barred by the 
        court, and so were not determined on the merits. 382 F.3d 1206 
        (10th Cir. 2004), rehrg en banc denied (with dissent), 391 F. 
        3d 1155 (10th Cir. 2004), cert denied Alexander v. State of 
        Oklahoma, 544 U.S. 1044 (2005).

SEC. 3. DETERMINATION ON MERITS FOR GREENWOOD CLAIMANTS.

    (a) In General.--Any Greenwood claimant who has not previously 
obtained a determination on the merits of a Greenwood claim may, in a 
civil action commenced not later than 5 years after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, obtain that determination.
    (b) Intent of Congress as to Remedial Nature of Section.--It is the 
intent of Congress that this section be liberally construed so as to 
effectuate its remedial purpose of giving a full determination on the 
merits for each Greenwood claim denied that determination.
    (c) Definitions.--In this Act--
            (1) the term ``Greenwood claimant'' means an individual who 
        filed a discrimination complaint arising from conduct connected 
        to the May 31, 1921, race riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma; and
            (2) the term ``Greenwood claim'' means a complaint filed in 
        the Alexander v. State of Oklahoma litigation that was 
        dismissed as time barred by the Federal court.
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