DOJ Investigates 1921 Race Massacre, Hears Stories From Descendants And Survivors

Staff from the Department of Justice were in Tulsa Thursday as part of a first-of-its-kind investigation into the 1921 Race Massacre.

The DOJ announced last month it was opening an investigation into the riot that destroyed Black Wall Street and killed hundreds of people.

Michael Penny's father and grandfather survived the massacre and passed down stories to their children and grandchildren—stories that are now making their way to the federal government.

Every story has a first time it was told.

"Well with me, I learned in the '50s from my grandfather, who was like 23 when it happened," Michael said.

But it took him a long time to talk about what his family went through.

"It was like it never happened," he said.

Even his wife, Star Penny, didn't know that his family survived the Tulsa Race Massacre.

“No clue because the race thing was not something that was discussed in public," she said.

But when they started talking about it five years ago, they learned they were both descendants of survivors.

"It was fate," said Star.

Now that conversation is going even further than their home.

"For the first time in 103 years, the Department of Justice—the United States Department of Justice—came to Tulsa in relation to the Tulsa Race Massacre," said Attorney DeMario Solomon-Simmons.

He says that as part of the DOJ investigation, officials came to Tulsa to talk to survivors and descendants this week.

"It appeared to me that they were listening. They took notes; they asked questions," said Michael.

He told them the story his grandfather passed down: how Gerul Penny used what he learned when he served in World War I to protect part of Greenwood from the mob.

"I want the world to know that my grandfather was not a rioter—he was not a disloyal American. He was a hero. That may be my personal opinion, but he was a hero,” Michael said.

He and his wife hope the federal government finally hears the story they've always known—a story that they are no longer afraid to tell.

The Justice Department also talked to the two survivors who are still alive: Mother Fletcher and Mother Randle.

The meetings come a day before the City of Tulsa's Beyond Apology Commission holds its first meeting. The group is discussing how the community will support descendants of the race massacre. That meeting is at City Hall at 1 p.m.

Related: 'How Can We Do More?' Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum Introduces 'Beyond Apology' Commission For 1921 Race Massacre