Dawn Porter’s latest documentary delves into one of the worst incidents of racial violence in the United States — yet one that is routinely left out of the history books. “Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer” revisits the Tulsa Massacre, the 1921 tragedy that saw white mobs attacking “Black Wall Street,” the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Over 300 Black citizens were killed and thousands more displaced. “Rise Again” will air on National Geographic on June 18 and stream on Hulu beginning June 19, Juneteenth, the day commemorating the emancipation of the last enslaved peoples in Texas.
“Rise Again” follows Washington Post journalist and Oklahoma native DeNeen Brown as she reports on her search for a mass grave. “Digging into the events that led to one of the worst episodes of racial violence in America’s history, Brown reveals insights into racial-conflict incidents that erupted in the early 20th century. Between 1917 and 1923, when Jim Crow laws were at their height and the Klu Klux Klan was resurging across the nation, scores of Black homes and businesses were razed, and hundreds of Black people were lynched and massacred with impunity,” a press release details. “Brown’s reporting highlights the revived call for justice for victims and survivors. Following a 2018 investigative report, Brown explores the current new anti-racism movement in the context of the Tulsa Massacre and the Red Summer. With access to family members of those killed, city officials, archeologists, and historians, the film reveals the decades-long effort by descendants and community members to find the victims’ bodies and unearth truths that have been suppressed for nearly a century. ‘Rise Again: Tulsa and the Red Summer’ also untangles the role the media played in covering events at the time in order to reveal the full extent of the nation’s buried past.”
Porter directed and produced “Rise Again,” and Brown served as contributing reporter. The excavation of a possible mass grave in Tulsa will be covered in a future issue of National Geographic Magazine.
“I’m interested in following the evidence where it leads while giving a voice to those directly affected by the tragic events in Tulsa and throughout the Red Summer. This is the time to tell this story, which is not only about Black victims but also about Black resistance,” Porter said. “There is so much our society is currently reckoning with, but seeking the truth about the damage wrought by unchecked mob violence against the Black community is a starting point. Sadly, the racism motivating the Red Summer has not been eradicated. It is clear, we must acknowledge these wrongs if healing is to begin.”
Brown explained, “In Tulsa, there is an increased urgency to properly honor Black people who were murdered during the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Black activists in Tulsa have been working for years to bring national attention to this horrific chapter in U.S. history, in which as many as 300 Black people were killed by white mobs, and the prosperous Black community of Greenwood was destroyed. This year, as the city recognizes the 100th anniversary of the massacre, Tulsa finds itself at a point of inflection to learn from its horrific history and bring justice to survivors and descendants who have been denied true justice for too long.”
The premiere of HBO’s “Watchmen,” which takes place in a parallel United States, helped raise much-needed awareness around the Tulsa Massacre. The Regina King-starrer’s opening scene revisits the carnage, which serves as the catalyst — and as one series scribe put it, “original sin” — of the show’s entire story. The massacre was depicted in an episode of “Lovecraft Country” as well.
Salima Koroma and dream hampton also have documentary projects about the Tulsa Massacre in the works.
Porter received Mind the Gap’s Documentarian of the Year Award last year. Her credits include “The Way I See It,” “John Lewis: Good Trouble,” and “Trapped.”
Check out a first look for “Rise Again” below.
