An OU task force has successfully petitioned the Library of Congress to change the subject heading of “Tulsa Race Riot” to “Tulsa Race Massacre,” according to an OU press release.
The Library of Congress Subject Headings Change Proposal Task Force, made up of library information professionals concerned with historically accurate research, made the petition in 2020, according to the release. The new official wording will change how the historical tragedy is phrased in library systems worldwide.
According to the release, words affect perceptions of historical events, and correct identification can bring accurate readings on history. To make the change, the task force had to provide evidence that “massacre” was “not only the historically accurate term, but also the predominant term currently in use.” Task force members used their own research, Google search analytics and Library of Congress research guides to show how the incorrect wording affected the information given with searching “riot” rather than “massacre,” per the press release.
The task force was aided by the Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission, the Greenwood Cultural Center and Karlos Hill, an associate professor and chair of the Clara Luper Department of African and African American Studies in the OU College of Arts and Sciences, according to the release.
“I’m proud of OU Libraries’ pivotal role in petitioning the Library of Congress to change their subject listing from ‘Tulsa Race Riot’ to ‘Tulsa Race Massacre,’” Hill said in the release. “In making this small but significant shift, the Library of Congress is helping to bring forward a more historically accurate perspective of what actually occurred.”
The release also provided a link to a University Libraries exhibition titled “From Tragedy to Triumph: Race Massacre Survivor Stories,” which tells the story of the Tulsa Race Massacre through photographs and eyewitness accounts from survivors.
