05/28/21 05/28/21 democracy now! [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> through these 11 days of madness, children killed, 12 now in total, who were our social programs. they were killed with their families, their dreams, and their nightmares.

amy: as the united nations human rights chief warns israel may have committed war crimes in gaza, we will look at how israel killed 12 palestinian children being treated for trauma from israeli bombings. we will talk jan egeland of the norwegian refugee council about the crisis in gaza. he will join us from goma in the democratic republic of congo where tens of thousands have fled their homes fearing another volcano eruption. then we look back 100 years ago to the tulsa race massacre, one of the deadliest acts of racist terror in u.s. history when a white mob in oklahoma attacked what was known as black wall street, killing an estimated 300 black residents. >> theestruction was s colete. the suffing was biblica thbetray was so pfound.

>>lack comnities derve the opportunity too constructhe pa. oucityas been uck. we have ver recored. tulsa w the besplace in e nation r afrin-americs. hotels,heaters. >> doctors, lawyers. >> people referred to it as like wall street. amy: we will speak to stanley nelson about his new documentary "tulsa burning: the 1921 race massacre." all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine port. i'm amy goodman. the united nations high commissioner for human rights since israel may have committed war crimes during its 11-day bombardment of the gaza strip earlier this month. michelle bachelet said she had seen no evidence to backsraeli claims that civilian buildings in gaza bombed by israel were being used for military purposes. >> airstrikes and such densely

populated areas, higlevel of civilian fertility's and injuries as well as widespread destruction. such strikes raise serious concerns that israel with the principal -- distinction under international -- amy: high commissioner michelle bachelet also said hamas violatednternational law by firing rockets into israel. her comments came as the u.n. human rights council voted to create a permanent commission of inquiry to monitor human rights abuses in israel, gaza, and the occupied west bank. michael lynk, the u.n.'s special rapporteur on the palestinian territories, testified to the council thursday. >> what we have witnessed in gaza in the past few weeks hunts the conscience of the world. approximately 242 palestinians killed, the majority of whom are

civilians. 63 of whom are children. almost 2000 were injured. there has been massive property destruction. amy: after headlines, we will speak with jan egeland, head of the norwegian refugee council about the crisis in gaza. the world health organization warned african nations neeto thursday acquire ather 20 million doses of astrazeneca's covid vaccine in the next six weeks orillions ofeople will miss out on their booster shots. -- on their second dose. the headf the who's african operions said -- "any pause in our vaccination campaigns will lead to lt lives and lost hope." so far, african countries have received just 43 million vaccine doses for the continent's 1.2 billion people. th comess a new report by public citizen finds wealthy nations could produce enough vaccines tinoculate 80% of people in low- and middle-income countries within a year with an

investment of just $25 billion. the people's vaccine alliance tweeted in response -- "the global vaccine apartheid is a policy choice. we have the means to end it." senate republicans are preparing to use the filibuster to block democrats from voting to create a 9/11-style commission to study the january 6 insurrection at the u.s. capitol. debate over a key procedural vote on the commission stretched until about 3:00 a.m. this morning without resolution. meanwhile, senate minority leader mitch mcconnell is reportedly calling fellow republicans and asking them to support a filibuster of the bill as a personal favor. alaska republican senator lisa murkowski accused mcconnell of blocking the commission for political gain. murkowski and just two other republican senators -- mitt romney and susan collins -- support the commission's creation.

on thursday, the mother and girlfriend of brian sicknick, the police officer who died a day after he was attacked by the pro-trump mob at the capitol, personally met with republican senators to press them to support the commission. the senate confirmed christine wormuth as as the first woman secretary of the army. she served as a pentagon policy chief under president obama and led biden's transition team at the defense department. -- at the pentagon. meanwhile, biden is expected to announce soon his nomination of former chicago mayor rahm emanuel to be the next ambassador to japan. emanuel, who also served as a chief of staff for obama, has faced fierce public backlash for helping cover up the 2014 police killing of 17-year-old laquan mcdonald. in media news, amazon announced wednesday it was acquiring metro-goldwyn-mayer studios for $8.45 billion, its largest acquisition after whole foods. with the purchase, amazon will

add the james bond franchise and thousands of older films to its prime video streaming catalog. in a statement, public citizen said -- "amazon is prioritizing monopolizing content for the streaming service while completely failing to address the real concerns of workers, small businesses, and regulators. this massive dominant monopoly needs to be broken up." the planned merger comes on the heels of a $130 billion merger between warnermedia and discovery. warnermedia was spun off of time warner, which at&t acquired in 2018 for $85 billion. top executives at the largest u.s. banks appeared on capitol hill for a second straight day thursday, where some lawmakers accused them of pandemic profiteering. on wednesday, massachusetts democratic senator elizabeth warren grilled the ceos of bank

of america, citibank, jpmorgan chase, and wells fargo for charging customers a collective $4 billion in overdraft fees during the covid crisis. >> while you automatically and at no cost got complete protection from overdraft fees at the federal reserve, could you please raise your hand if you gave the same automatic protection to your customers and automatically waived all their overdraft fees? , i am not seeing anyone raise a hand. that is because none of you gave thsame help to your customers that the bank regulators extended to you. amy: more information has emerged about the gunman in the san jose mass shooting, who killed nine coworkers before turning the gun on himself. a homeland security mo reveals customs officers had detained samuel cassidy in 2016 as he returned from a trip to the philippines. he professed a hatred for his

workplace, where wednesday's massacre took place, and possessed books and manifestos about terrorism. an ex-partner accused him of sexual assault in 2009 and his ex-wife told reporters he talked about killing coworkers when they were married -- well over a decade ago. authorities recovered three handguns athe scene the massacre, at least two of which were semi-automatic pistols, and 11 round magazines. the fbi said the guns were legally obtained and registered there is evidence he targeted the victims he killed. in washington state, prosecutors have charged three tacoma police officers with murder over the march 2020 killing of manuel ellis, a 33-year-old black father of two children. ellis was violently arrested and beaten by the officers on the side of the road and died while he was being restrained and in handcuffs. he can be heard saying, "i can't breathe" on a police scanner.

officers christopher burbank and matthew collins, who are white, are charged with second-degree murder. asian-american officer timothy rankine faces a first-degree manslaughter charge. it's the first time in history the washington state attorney general's office has criminally charged a police officer over a deadly use-of-force incident. it comes more than a year after a county medical examiner ruled ellis' death a homicide, reporting he died of hypoxia due to physical restraint. authorities in the democratic republic of congo have ordered as many as one million people to evacuate the city of goma as one of the world's most dangerous volcanoes is threatening to erupt for a second time in a week. lava from saturday's eruption left about 20,000 people homeless and killed at least 32 people, but powerful aftershocks and frequent tremors since then have rattled nerves and prompted

fears over the fate of goma, a densely populated city at the foot of the volcano. we will go to jan egeland in goma in the democratic republic of congo, the head of the norwegian refugee council, after headlines. and in australia, a court ruled the government has a duty to protect children and the environment from the effects of the climate catastrophe. in a case brought by eight high school students, a federal judge acknowledged -- "many thounds will suffer premature death from heat stress or bushfire smoke." the judge stopped short however of granting an injunction on the expansion of a coal mine. this is one of the young climate activists and plaintiffs in the historic case. >> the law now recognize the environment minister is in a special position to prevent harm to young people. i feel elated by this decision

and it is not over. it is about young peoe demanding more from the adults whose actions are determining our future. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. the united nations human rights chief michelle bachelet says israel may have committed war crimes during its 11-day bombardment of gaza which killed at least 253 palestinians, including 66 children. bachelet spoke before the united nations human rights council. >> such strikes raise serious concerns with israel's compliance with distinction and proportionality under international humanitarian law. if fou to be indiscriminat and disproportionate t impact ofivilia [indiscernle]

amy: the u.n. humarights council approved a resolution thursday to launch a sweeping international investigation into war crimes committed in israel and the occupied palestinian territories. the resolution was drafted by the organization of islamic states. >> regrettably, the so professed global champions of human rights continue -- accountability. literally throwing arms and ammunition, crimes of apartheid against the people. let us be clear, there is no legal and moral equivalence the occupied and unoccupied. amy: the biden administration has vowed to help rebuild gaza but at the same time it is moving ahead with a plan to sell $735 million worth of bombs to israel despite congressional opposition. earlier this week, i spoke to jan egeland, the secretary general of the norwegian refugee

council, which works in gaza. last week, the council revealed 11 of the children killed in the israeli killing of gaza were taking part in a program to help them deal with trauma from previous attacks. egeland is the former humanitarian relief coordinator at the united nations. he spoke to us from goma in the democratic republic of congo, where tens of thousands have evacuated fearing another volcano eruption. we also talked about the crisis in the drc, but i began by asking him to talk about the situation in gaza. >> gaza has become the home of hopelessness, where people are crammed together. truly people in a tiny place. it is smaller than the municipality -- there is no way people can leave the place stop israel and egypt control the

borders and do not let people out. only a bit of humanitarian aid in. during this onslaught, there was a 12 little girl killed. all of those we were trying to treat for trauma from the previous conflict. more since 2006 step a child would have grown up with nothing but violence, nothing but hopelessness. that is why we need blinken and biden and the leadership of the u.s. to lead to a solution to this repeat of conflict for palestinian children. amy: yet the united states providing weapons for israel to bomb gaza and now committing to the rebuilding of gaza. can you talk about the problem with this?

>> it seems futile, really. it seems to be a logical third part, namely, for the u.s. to lead the international community, the euros -- u.s., europe, and arab countries to have some kind of arbitration when you have an israeli leadership and palestinian leadership's incapable of solving the underlying conflicts that the two repeat violence and insecurity for both peoples. could the u.s. leaders in reaching political solutions and an end to the occupation and so on, we had an earthquake in goma and that is why it is shaking. we need in gaza to have an end to this serving hopelessness to children will grow up with more and more bitterness and chaos. i am telling you, we

humanitarian workers are sick and tired of builng and rebuilding and see it all torn down again. amy: you cosigned a letter with 11 other heads of international humanitarian organizations to secretary of state blinken about the situation in gaza. talk about the issues you have raised. you have this constant bombardment where the president of the united states, president biden, would not demand of netanyahu a cease-fire. said he might like one, would urge one, but not make a diplomatic demand -- particularly important since israel is the largest recipient of u.s. military aid in the world. >> we, the 12 nongovernmental organizations serving palestinians on the ground, the civilian population, especially children women, and the most vulnerable, we urged in our letter to the united states to take the lead in ending the

occupation, getting humanitarian access to all, ending the underlying injustice that means we have this confrontation. but we are also trying to tell we nd help to be able to be active for all palestinians, irrespective of where they are in gaza. we cannot even help the people. amy: secretary general, last week you tweeted, "we are devastated to learn 11 of the children we helped in gaza with trauma from previous violence are now killed by israeli missiles. israel must stop this madness. children must be protected. their homes and schools must not be targets."

we also spoke with the head of unwra and a gaza about the devastation and the number of schools and hospitals that were attacked. tell us more about these children and what it means that you are finding trauma help for them. >> we have been to gaza for a very long time was to i personally also visited it regularly over the last 13 years. during all of my visits to gaza where we have 50 humanitarian workers now working around the clock as they have been for a very long time, the strongest impression is this hopelessness, this bitterness, the sense that the use do not believe it -- the youth do not believe it will become better. we also saw too many children were having learning problems in

school. they were having so many nightmares at night that they cannot really follow education. so we started a better learning program, as we call it, psychosocial program. and these common started to learn better. they were making progress in school. the palestinians are like the neighbors, very diligent, very talented, very organized. we were optimistic -- before this last repeat violence. and through these 11 days of madness, we get news every single day of children killed ep 12 now in total, who work in our psychosocial program. they were killed with their families, with their dreams, and there nightmares that we were treating them for.

i think that is a symbol of cannot be continuing like this. the united states has to get the parties out of this repeat cycle of violence. would we want to come back every three, 4, 5 years for eternity with more bombing of urban areas? we have seen -- 13,500 homes have been either damaged or even destroyed. we are accumulating dead children and accumulating hopelessness if he continues like this. amy: can you talk about what israel and a lot of the mainstream media, at least in the united states, are based in norway, the equivalency of the hamas missiles and the israeli bombardment that killed over 250 palestinians, a quarter of them, something like 66

children, dead? >> well, this is disproportionate warfare. there is one occupier, and that -- that is strong, and people having also extremist organizations among themselves trying to inflict as much damage on the others as they can. but of course, there were moments, five times the number dead palestinian children and total fatalities of all ages on the israeli side. again, the u.s. military might that is given to israel makes it be so much stronger, therefore, we feel they should now reach out and try to make peace with their neighbors.

it is not going to be easy because there is a lot of extremism now and there will be more extremism because there is more bitterness and more hatred each time we have these kinds of military campaigns. amy: jan egeland, secretary-neral of the norwegian refugee council speaking to us about gaza earlier this week from goma in the democratic republic of congo, were tens of thousands have fled their homes fearing another volcanic eruption. we also talk about the crisis in yemen and vaccine apartheid when we come back with him. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. tens of thousands of people in the democratic republic of the congo have fled their homes in the city of goma after authorities warned mount nyiragongo might erupt again. authorities have ordered as bill many as one money people to evacuate. at least 31 people died when the volcano began erupting on may 22. the volcano is one of just many crises confronting the drc, where more than 5 million people are internally displaced after years of wars. we return now to my conversation

with jan egeland, the secretary general of the norwegian refugee council. we were scheduled to interview him on our live program on tuesday from goma, but he had to cancel at the last minute after an earthquake forced him to evacuation the organization's office. we later spoke to him from outside while the earth continued to shake. i asked him to talk about the situation in goma. >> i am indeed in goma. there is an earthquake every five minutes, 10 minutes. there was one when we just talked. there is enormous activity. people are scared. many people are leaving town for the second time. this building of my organization -- red zone. the lava from the volcano, which

is just a few to my right, may come back. it is really a mess in a situation that i come to because i would like to give some publicity to the enormous crisis at is overlooked in the democratic republic of congo. there are 20 million people here who need humanitarian relief. it is the largest neglected emergency on earth. i am glad we can talk about it. i not only because of the volcano, but we need to talk about the war, the misery, the hunger, and the whole looting of drc from strong capital from all of the world that want to have the minerals at is in the ground under here. amy: unicef is reporting over 100 children are missing in the area after having been separated from their parents following the

erosion. can you talk about how the country is dealing right now and what that new region refugee council is doi? >> -- norwegian refugee council is doing? >> we care for those who fled from the volcano. the eruption truly catastrophic, another is 1.5 million people here in goma. we need to be able to do more for the millions who have been displaced by the conflicts. there are 150 armed groups active in the congo. it is really horrific what is happening here. amy: and going to that larger issue of refugees, in 2020 alone, natural disasters and conflict uprooted as you said more than 40 million people.

you deal with countries and then there is the overall crisis of wars, climate change, and then you have the pandemic. can you talk about how the pandemic has affected the refugee situation in the world? nk>> the pandemic really has ben a tremendous medical shock and social shock for the whole world. the united states has suffered, so have we in europe. but it is hard for us in the noh and northwest of the world to understand the socioeconomic meltdown that is led to new places like congo. so here in the country which has the highest richness of minerals in the world, people live on

just $1.50 a day. when the country is paralyzed because of international trade and exchanges, people start. so here the pandemic causes mass starvation. 27 million people -- imagine 27 million people are now food insecure. that is a euphemism for they don't know if they have food next week at the moment. many millions are now in acute hunger. and we are underfunded and overstretched as a humanitarian organization in this, the most neglected humanitarian urgency in the world. amy: this volcano also adding to thousands of refugees trying to go over into the -- over the border into rwanda.

what does that mean? >> well, yes. rwanda is actually behind me. you can see rwanda, e mountains in the back here. rwanda, which is relatively well organized and do not have an active volcano at the moment, is where thousands and thousands tried to flee from goma when there are eruptions and tremendous earthquakes. rwanda is a very small place, though. the majority of people in congo flee within their own country. 5.5 million people have tried -- have conflict. there are more people fleeing congo than there are inhabitants of my country norway. and each year we accumulate more people fleeing. there is little funding for us here. we are really, really

overstretched and we do not get the message out that there is a tremendous emergency in the congo, precisely for that reason people are not fleeing across the borders but within their own country and the is also hidden within their own country. amy: i know you have so much to do, but i also want to ask you about yemen. speaking about children, speaking about people devastated by war and also by climate change. you are in yemen earlier this year we're in additioto the devastation of the u.s.-backed sought a uae war on the people of yemen, you observe the catastrophic effects of the climate isis. can you talk about what you found there? >> yemen is also one of those countries where all of the plates of the --, the same time. similar to where i am now the

democratic republic of congo. in yemen, however, changed on top of a senseless war. blockades and poverty beyond belief means there are places in yemen that become unlivable. theris no water. there world the zero water in the fure -- will be zero water and in the future. it is important for understand and the high north, norwegians, americans and others, who did so much to cause climate change, we are least and last it. it is the yemenis, the africans who are first and hardest hit. there needs to be investment in making them robust to meet this climate change that is coming in the poorest places on earth. amy: finally, jan egeland, as

you travel from one place to anothe another world, although you are based in norway, what gives you hope at this white? when you are seeing the level of refugees, the walls being built, the devastation of people as the children in gaza? >> well, i am glad you asked me that. i have been a humanitarian worker for 40 years. i started off as a volunteer in colombia in 1976, 1977. what gives me hope and energy to continue is that i see we are reaching people, saving lives all the time. the norwegian rescue council alone reached more than 11 million displaced people in refugees last year with education and livelihoods and food and shelter and water and sanitation and free legal aid.

we can do so much with small resources. so that is why we urge richer nations and people to help us reach those who are suffering alone because we have seen how much we can do. for example, here in the congo, with small resources we are bringing hope, education, and a chance for people to get out. the rich soil here, many people we have helped that had to flee from violence are now self-sufficient because they are toiling the soil somewhere else. amy: finally, let me ask you something because what you said maybe think about this, do you see the pandemic as a microcosm or in fact it is macro, but what we are saying now, on the one hand, the u.s. was hardest hit. on the other hand, of the

wealthiest countries in the world having enough vaccines to inoculate the population over and over again. and yet the poorest countries in the world may not see a vaccine for years. can you talk about the significance of this vaccine apartheid as it is becoming known? >> it is devastating insecurity. we are insecure for the whole world. it is -- it is obvious we're not saving anyone until everyplace is safe. if congo does not get vaccines and we get the congolese to be vaccinated, it will live on here likebola would. and it can, since it is so contagious, it will come back in

new forms and variations. so the self-interest of the richer countries to help all of the world to be a duck elated is so obvious -- inoculated is so obvious. when there are so many nations that don't even have 1% vaccinated, that should give some cause to reflection for those who are now close to having vaccinated all of their citizens. amy: jan egeland, secretary-general of the norwegian refugee council, former u.n. official, speaking to us earlier this week from goma in the democratic republic of congo. when we come back, we look at the 100th anniversary of the tulsa race massacre, one of the deadliest act of racist terror in u.s. history. ♪♪ [sic brea

amy: hal singer, who was one of the last remaining survivors of the tulsa race massacre. he died in august at age 100. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. this monday, memorial day, marks the 100th anniversary of the tulsa race massacre, one of the single greatest acts of racist

terror in u.s. history. in 1921, the thriving african american neighborhood of greenwood in tulsa, oklahoma, was known as "black wall street" for its concentration of successful, black-owned businesses before it was burned to the ground by a white mob. the violence grew from confrontation at the tulsa courthouse where whites i got a to abduct and lynch a jailed black man who had been wrongfully accused of assaulting a white woman. black residents arrived to stop the lynching. gunshots erupted after which the white mob set upon greenwood for 18 hours with mass murder, arson, and looting that would become known as the 1921 tulsa race massacre. an estimated 300 african americans were killed. over 1000 were injured. 10,000 were left homeless as the racist mob some of them deputized and armed by tulsa law enforcement, along with members of the ku klux klan, terrorized the black population. airplanes were used to drop dynamite and crude incendiary

bombs, ultimately burning over 35 city blocks. over 1200 homes were destroyed along with countless businesses. the actual number of dead will never be known as bodies were tossed into mass graves or thrown in the river. last week, house -- a house judiciary subcommiee held hearing to address the ongoing impacts of the tulsa massacre. three african-american survivors testified in favor of reparations -- viola fletcher, her younger brother hughes van ellis who is 100 years old, and 105-year-old lessie benningfield randle. is is part of their testimony, beginning with viola fletcher. >> i am a survivor of the tulsa race massacre. two weeks ago, i celebrated my 107th birthday. [applause] today i am visiting washington, d.c., for the first time in my

life. i am here seeking justice and i'm asking my country to acknowledge what happened in tulsa in 1921. the night of the massacre, i was awakened by my family. my parents and five siblings were there. i was told we had to leave and that was it. i will never forget the violence of the white mob when we left our home. i still see black men being shot, black bodies lying in the street. i still smell smoke. i still see black businesses been burned. i still hear airplanes flying overhead. i hear the screams. i have lived to the massacre every day. our country may forget this history, but i cannot. i will not. and other survivors do not. an hour descendants do not.

>> we live with it every day. and the thought of what greenwood was and what it could have been. we are not just black and white pictures on a screen. we are flesh and blood. i was there when it happened. i am still here. >> it seems like justice in america is not possible for black people. amy: three african-american survivors of the tulsa race massacre making history as they testified before congress last -- just ahead of the 100th anniversary, which is this monday. this week the department of homeland security said events commemorating the massacre could be a target for white

supremacists. president joe biden still plans to travel to tulsa on tuesday. this sunday, a documentary by award-winning filmmaker stanley nelson premieres on the history channel. this is the trailer for "tulsa burning: the 1921 race massacre." >> theestructi was so complete th sufferingas so biblical e betrayasorofoun black communies deser the oprtunity confronthe past stoc>> our cithas be stk. we he ver recored. >>ulsaas the bt place the nion for afrin-americs. >> everythingrom hels, eaters. >> docrs, lawys. >> pple refeed to its blk wall seet. howinglack peoe that a new worlwas posble. >> it was a fae narrate to ke black pple inheir plac to reinforce ite

supremacy. all aoss tua, angry whites a now orgizing a sp >>hey get the guns an torche >> at that int theytart mong towargreenwoo >> all hell bre loose >>irininto homes. >> bbs droppg from the a. >> all thamassacre looks not onef those men o participatedn the ra massacre we er broug to justic >>he tul tribuneefused to ite anythg about e massac from mo than 50 years. >> victims werbeing bied in unmarkedraves across e city. >> t reasoe undersnd the hiory of t massaes that ceain survors decided t talkbout it. >> motr saw fr men ming tord our hse and a h torche

>> we uld be lking forhe mas those who we lost so tgically. >>e neeto do sometng about wh hped in tul. >>here cant be a justice until there is proper respect, restitution, and repair. amy: the trailer for "tulsa burning: the 1921 race massacre ." executive producer of the star, nba star russell westbrook who played for the oh, city thunder for a decade. we are joined by one of the documentary's directors, stanley nelson. his previous films include "freedom summer," "freedom riders," and "the murder of emmett till." it is an honor to have you with us again. lay this out. this is a story that as we can see throughout the film and from our own education, was so

suppressed for so many decades. go back in time. talk to us about black wall street and why so many african-americans came to oklahoma. st>> one of the things that is o fascinating about the story is that afcan-americans in the decades after the civil war migrated west. we think of that famous saying, go west young man, welcome african-americans with west. we did not think about americans in covered wagons. we don't think -- we don't usually think about african-americans but african-americans went west in covered wagons on horseback, on foot to try to start a new life and try to start a life where they could live with dignity and peace. and they did that. they did that in greenwood. greenwood was one of over 100 african-american communities in the west. some small, some aittle larger post of the greenwood was the

biggest and the best of those communities. it was very successful community that have businesses -- there was a skating rig, movie theaters, grocery stores, lawyers, doctors, everything. it was a self-contained community. that may have been one of the problems with the white neighbors. amy: i was so struck by the history where you've talked about african-americans coming north from the oppression of the deep south and actually number -- they called it indian country, going to oklahoma. i never concerned about oklahoma -- a number concerned about oklahoma becoming a state, it would reinforce the racist laws of the rest of the united states. >> one of the things so fascinating is oklahoma was a territory. it was kind of free. it was the home of the land rush and black pele to part in that. there was a move to make oklahoma a home, a black state

for african-americans. but once oklahoma became a state, the racist jim crow laws took effect and like people that had kind of been free in oklahoma were then persecuted. amy: this is another clip from your documentary that features several historians and descendants describing greenwo's htory athe blac wall stree >>reenwood w communityf cessy, segrete encla. blac folks cld n apply their tres or puhases gds anserves in t larr white economy thecreatetheir own economy. that enomy bece scessfu beuse blacfolks dibusiness with one ather and cap dolla largy with the bla counity. sregati was not necessary desireit actuay ableblack bunesses to

thrive, blacprofessionals thve. >> a disict wre mey, dollars, could turn er five six tis. >> in greeood, aa blk rson, you could aance a yo h a numbeof indivuals theommuni that were prosring. my uncle was a physian. his name wasndrew jackn. lived on deoit stre in the 500 blk, sort a hil up thattreet. detroit in tse days d the nicest house e need gronegroedid. we had the princal, dentts, doors, andy uncle. his na was dr.ackson. close myreat-grafather's na was jb stratfo. gw up in keucky. s parentwere sves.

he wasble to get a law dree an go toollege a really starte entreprenrial carr in tsa, oklama. e stratfd hotelas one o the laest ack-ownehotels the united stat. it w a beautul buildg. leaders througut the cntry whenhey ca to the midwe uld ofn stay the ratford hote >> bck eertains playg there. we thi about jazz in ksas, kansasity. it is also imptant in greeood. becau of the ccess of grnwood, bker t. whington coin the phre "ringwoods the black wall street" or the " negro wall street" of america. >> a clip from "tulsa burning" that will air on the history channel. talk about why you chose to speak on this subject, dad to

the opus of your work. >> more reason than one. it is an incredible story that needs to be known. the building of black wall street, the building of greenwood, and also the devastation and destruction. but also it was really challenging because we are telling two stories. we are also telling the story of 2021 as greenwood searches r the remains of african-americans who were buried in mass of graves. we did not know where we would -- what we would find. we are telling the story of 1921 of greenwood and also 2021. amy: and 2020 because when trump went on the 99th anniversary of tulsa, so much was raised. i want to go to another clip from your documentary of reverend robert turner of the vernon a.m.e. church on greenwood avenue, in tulsa, the only surviving structure from

before t massacr >> when came to paor vern churnulsa, i knew nhing abt the hiory of this church. one ofy trusts gave ma tour when saw theornersto ouide, whi is stl there, he rds "bamentrected 19." said, is thathe same one? they sd, it isheame on it surved the 11 race massre. i was ke, do you know what this is? we have something left. all is not lost. amy: nearly 100 years after the tulsa race massacre, a team of scholars is working to uncover the unmarked graves that stanley nelson just referred you of victims with hopes of

identifying some of their bodies. in this clip from "tulsa burning," we hear from brenda nails alford, a descendant of james and henry nails, who owned businesses in black wall strt. >> aays ew my grdmother had to hiden entry r some reason b i nevernew what thateant. faly memrs would com townith myreat unc would comeo town a we would b dring ande woulpass kland cetery. somee in the c wou always say, "u ow they e still over tre" the victs of the race msacre. and evybody inhe car wld agre i alwa had a lite think out at cemery grinup as a kid bause i w le, wh is overhere? i woul finout so my, many years laterhat the famy member a commuty membe were tre. 192 theeople o were

killed pple o lives, lov es -- th never had the benefit of havg a funer. th tchese at the ce. and it shod any cocious man bng. the fact tt we jt dumped bodies ohuman bngs, paiots, a vetan tchers, husbands, wives chiren in mass gves. nobody ever had a chance to say goodbye. amy: reverend turner of vernon a.m.e. church. stanley nelson, what most surprised you as you did this research? looks one of the things that was so surprising is there is film footage of the building of tulsa. the people were so prosperous and so proud of what they were building that in 1920, early in

1921, they made movies and took insurers of their homes and their businesses. there are still pictures and moes of the destruction. we see it. as a filmmaker, it was a gift because it is really a window into what happened. that surprised me because you don't often find film footage of just african-american communities, you know, being themselves, from the early 1920's. amy: this is another clip from "tulsa burning" featuring a descendant of james and henry nails. >> also history of resistance, story of courage and resilience and that cannot be forgotten. >> my grandfather, he was a very proud coege-educated shoemer

who did evething heas "supsed to d" got his educaon. heorked ha. he startedusinesses. and stl that w not enoh. in ts day and time, questi is, wheis it eugh? whenre we ough as a people? they did everything they could do. they wanted to be successful. these were proud, upstandg members our cmunity w simply wanted piecof the americanream and truly receed a nigmare. >>t the d of this experience, nohite pern was convicte of an fense related to kilng people destroyg the property the grewood strict. no. d at is nosurpring. when you think about the context, it is not surprising at all. amy: that last voice come history and hannibal johnson.

finally, this clip from "tulsa burning" about the aftermath of the deadly attack. >> they're being led away at gunpoint to the so-called internment centers around town. fairgrounds, municipal auditorium, the baseball park. >> to get out of the centers, people had had a green identification card countersigned by white person willing to vouch for them. >> she you are you he beenllegal arresdy white vilians. you ha no id what ha haened tyour lov ones if yohave bn separated r them from. if that was youuncle, bther, your father, u'reoing to ner know at happened.

>> whave tocknoedge tt e destruion to t community was iention. itas conscio. itas systetic. y >> when the dust stled, somewhere between00 to 3 pele were lled. ateast 10 homes d athe black counity we destred. >> 4square bcks. ju oiterated >> y could s the iro metal bed snds wherthere us to be hes. >> $2 miion bla wlth nt up in fmes was to it w never couped

and r peop who didot kw what hapned to tiroved ones, identifi as wells identied com africaameric massacr victimsere inguriein unmarked graves across the city. amy: another clip from "tulsa burning." stanley nelson the issue of reparatis. 100 years later. >> one of the things the film do and doeso well is it makes you think about reparation. it is such a broad word. but i think if you understand what people mean and why people ask for reparations once you see the film and the story of tulsa, which is a real representation of their problems that black community's suffered. amy: and you certainly help us do this in this rarkable

documentary post stanley nelson, director of the new documentary "tulsa burning: the 1921 race massacre." it premier sunday on the history channel. our condolences to our dear colleague miriam barnard.