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The New York Times ran a powerful multimedia as part of the 100 year commemoration of the Tulsa Race Massacre. If you can access, take a look at the piece.
In creating the project the NYT used Library of Congress maps and others so readers could visualize the impact of the destruction. Quote from the methodology on the article:
The 3-D model of Tulsa, Okla., was created using a series of both computerized and manual steps that transformed historical material into digital data. First, we took images of Sanborn insurance maps from 1920 and 1915 and used a process called georeferencing to align them to modern geography. The 1920 maps came from the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum and were used to reconstruct as much of Greenwood and downtown Tulsa as possible. The 1915 maps were from the Library of Congress and were used to fill in other parts of Tulsa, where 1920 maps were not available.
Next, we wrote a computer program to extract the building outlines from those maps using a technique called machine learning. We also created an application to input the height information for each building from the Sanborn maps.
Archival photographs and maps were used to create a detailed model of the 100 block of Greenwood Avenue. Buildings or parts of buildings without photographic reference are shown without details. The street grid was created by georeferencing a 1921 street map of Tulsa from the Library of Congress.
Other images from the Library of Congress of the Tulsa Race Massacre can be accessed here.
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The NY Times multimedia presentation is such a powerful reminder of how primary sources (the Sanborn fire insurance maps, photographs, oral histories, and other records) can help historians reconstruct stories from the past. I found the entire presentation fascinating and poignant. Also sadly ironic, because after the massacre, insurance companies did not permit Black residents to rebuild their neighborhoods and their city.
Oddly, I happened to be in the car this morning when the NPR 1A show came on. Today's theme was "How Taxes Keep American Wealth White," and there was some discussion in the program about inherited white wealth and its long-term impact on families and communities. The Tulsa Race Massacre multimedia presentation showed exactly what a similar impact could have meant for the Black descendants of Greenwood residents.
Thank you for this post, 
Cheryl Davis
. I did not know that the Library of Congress had so many photographs from after the massacre. There's so much here for students to analyze.
Such good discussion points to provide to students showing how this event relates to the broader picture of racism. Thank you 
Mary Johnson
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A very informative blog from the Library just posted today provides a detailed story and information on how to research the Massacre: How to Research the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
The other day I came across this Tweet from the Superintendent of Schools in Tulsa. I found it interesting because my next door neighbor grew up in Tulsa (we’ve lived next door to each other for over 40 years in Orinda, California) told me that she had attended Tulsa schools and never heard of the Massacre.
So much of history (both the sorrows and joys) still waits to be told. Hats off to the teachers, librarians, reseracher and others that continue to enlighten.
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