One hundred years ago, Tulsa, Oklahoma police and National Guard assisted white mobs in the massacre of Black citizens. No one knows for sure, but it’s estimated that 300 people were killed. Over a thousand were injured. The entire district was burned. 10,000 were homeless. Churches, stores, medical offices and businesses were destroyed, leaving the displaced survivors without jobs and crucial services.

Those victims could have been my grandparents. Or yours. My grandparents came from eastern Europe. Though they were white, their clothing and accents set them apart. They were harassed because they were different.

It’s time to set our differences aside.

We are all the same, all over the world. We love our families and want our children to be healthy and make good choices. We want them to be kind, because we know the kindness they give others will be returned to them. We care about our elders, and about friends and strangers who are grieving, or in physical pain, or in need. All people, all over our country and all over the world are the same. They are us.

I’d like our commemoration of the 1921 massacre of Blacks in Tulsa to make us mindful that we need to see everyone as human, and that we need to break down all “Us” vs “Them” barriers.

What can we do? How can we break down barriers right here, right now?

Stephanie Gill,

Pocatello