Tulsa Outrage

The Tulsa Outrage was an act of vigilante violence perpetrated by the Knights of Liberty against members of the Industrial Workers of the World on November 7, 1917 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[1][2]

The incident occurred when 12 members of the IWW were convicted by Judge T. D. Evans of the crime of not owning a war bond.

Judge Evans also convicted five men who, though they were not members of the IWW, were witnesses for the defense. After sentencing, the police rounded up the 17 men and delivered them into the custody of the black-robed Knights of Liberty, a short-lived local group.[3]

The Knights of Liberty abducted the men at gunpoint and drove them to a deserted location west of town. The men were then, one by one, bound to a tree, whipped, then tarred and feathered.[4]

“After each one was whipped another man applied the tar with a large brush, from the head to the seat,” wrote the Tulsa branch secretary. “Then a brute smeared feathers over and rubbed them in… After they had satisfied themselves that our bodies were well abused, our clothing was thrown into a pile, gasoline poured on it, and a match applied. By the light of our earthly possessions, we were ordered to leave Tulsa, and leave running and never come back.”[5]

See also

References
  1. "Modern Ku Klux Klan Comes Into Being." Tulsa World. Nov. 10, 1917.
  2. Tulsa Daily World (Tulsa, Okla.), Vol. 13, No. 52, Ed. 1 Saturday, November 10, 1917. Oklahoma Digital Newspaper Program.
  3. "The 'Knights of Liberty' mob and the I.W.W. prisoners at Tulsa, Okla." Pamphlet from the National Civil Liberties Bureau (November 9, 1917), p. 9
  4. Chapman, Lee Roy. "The Nightmare of Dreamland." This Land Press. Published Sept. 1st, 2011. Accessed Jul. 27, 2014.
  5. "We are the heirs to the Tulsa Outrage" Industrial Worker (June 2012)
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