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| Tulsa Star | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tulsa Star |
| Type | Weekly newspaper |
| Foundation | 1913 |
| Ceased publication | 1921 |
| Headquarters | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Founders | A. J. Smitherman |
| Language | English |
| Political | Black press |
Tulsa Star The Tulsa Star was a weekly African American newspaper published in Tulsa, Oklahoma from 1913 until 1921. It served the Greenwood District and broader Black Americans in Oklahoma with news, opinion, and advocacy during an era of segregation, migration, and racial violence. The paper became a central organ for civic organization, economic development, and legal challenges involving prominent figures and institutions across the region.
Founded amid the post-Reconstruction rise of Black-owned businesses and the nationwide growth of the Black press, the publication emerged in a city experiencing rapid expansion driven by the Oil boom and the development of Tulsa County. Early coverage connected to migration patterns associated with the Great Migration, and the paper reported on local chapters of NAACP and the activities of Masonic and Baptist institutions in the area. The newspaper operated during a period that included the passage of state legislation in Oklahoma and national debates over civil rights during the administrations of Presidents such as Woodrow Wilson.
Editorial direction was shaped by a succession of African American journalists and activists who engaged with legal battles and business ventures. Leadership included editors who interacted with regional legal institutions like the Tulsa County Courthouse and national organizations such as the National Urban League. Ownership and editorial stewardship reflected alliances with leaders of Greenwood District commerce, ministers from denominations including AME and A.M.E. Zion Church, and civil rights advocates who corresponded with figures in Washington, D.C. and urban centers like Chicago, New York City, and St. Louis.
The paper covered economic topics tied to the Oil Capital identity of Tulsa, labor disputes, and entrepreneurial ventures by businesspeople in Greenwood. It chronicled legal cases in local courts, social events at institutions like Booker T. Washington-linked schools, and the activities of fraternal orders such as the Prince Hall Freemasonry. Editorials engaged with national debates involving figures like W.E.B. Du Bois and organizations such as the NAACP and the National Negro Business League. The newspaper influenced civic mobilization around voter registration drives tied to county elections and municipal governance, and it reported on migration to and from destinations including Kansas City, Los Angeles, and Tulsa International Airport's precursor transportation hubs.
Printed in Tulsa, circulation focused on the Greenwood District and neighboring townships across Oklahoma, with distribution networks reaching travelers on rail lines serving Tulsa Union Depot and rural readers in nearby counties. Local delivery intersected with retail sales at Black-owned establishments, including barber shops, salons, and grocers. The publication also maintained ties with national syndicates and the network of weekly African American newspapers, linking narratives with papers in Atlanta, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C..
During a period of ownership under figures such as community entrepreneurs and printers—among them individuals connected with names like John and Ola Black—the paper continued advocacy for property rights and business protections for Greenwood residents. The owners coordinated with legal advocates and insurance professionals to contest property disputes heard in venues like the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma and approached civic leaders in Oklahoma City and Tulsa City Hall to seek redress for economic harms. Their stewardship linked the paper to wider networks of African American business owners and political actors in the Midwest and Southwest.
The newspaper played a prominent role in Greenwood public life in the lead-up to the events of 1921 that culminated in the attack often referenced in scholarship on race violence. It published accounts of local incidents, commentary on criminal allegations that drew the attention of law enforcement agencies, and appeals to state officials in Oklahoma and federal authorities in Washington, D.C.. In the aftermath, reporting on destruction to homes, churches, schools, and businesses intersected with legal claims and insurance disputes adjudicated in state courts and federal litigation involving plaintiffs from Greenwood. The paper’s archives were critical primary sources for historians examining interactions among plaintiffs, counsel, and institutions including the Tulsa County Sheriff's office and state militia units mobilized during the crisis.
Although the original press runs ceased in the early 1920s, surviving issues of the newspaper remain vital to scholarship on Black urban life, civil rights litigation, and economic history. Archivists and institutions such as university libraries, historical societies, and national repositories have sought to preserve extant copies, microfilm, and related materials. Collections have been curated by organizations linked to regional history initiatives and academic programs at institutions in Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas, and beyond. Contemporary digitization projects and exhibits in museums and cultural centers have relied on the paper’s content to reconstruct Greenwood’s commercial directories, biographical records of residents, and the chronology of events that scholars analyze alongside records from courts, churches, and civic organizations.
Category:Defunct newspapers of Oklahoma Category:African-American newspapers