By Sarah Monroe
The life of Andrew J Smitherman was not one of ease. Andrew began his career in the newspaper industry in 1909 in Muskogee, Oklahoma (4). As a lawyer he was originally hired as a law clerk but began the role of manager of the Muskogee Cimeter owned by William H. Twine (4). Andrew joined the Western Negro Press and served as their president of the Oklahoma chapter for 11 years (4). During this time, he began writing poetry and used it as an outlet to express his concerns over the growing issues that were affecting African Americans (4). It was one of these poems that he used to describe the Tulsa race riot of 1921 and became one of his most well-known poems.
It all started in 1913 when Andrew moved to Tulsa Oklahoma and began a new life with his family. While there he fought tirelessly for equal rights for all. He originally focused on issues such as illegal activities and prostitution (4). In 1921 he took on his biggest challenge of an African American child named Dick Rowland that was arrested for the accusation of attacking a white girl named Sarah Page (4). At the time of his arrest there was the start of a growing mob of angry protesters that wanted to take the law into their own hands to hang Rowland. This grew into a riot and for the next 12 hours it continued to grow in size and violence. In the end “ten thousand residents were without shelter, one hundred eighty-three treated for gunshot wounds and burns, and the death toll rose to thirty-five” (4). It is calculated that African Americans in the city of Tulsa lost an estimated total of “108 million dollars in property that has never been recovered” (1). While Andrew was out protecting during the riots his family was home and hiding in their own home while it was burned to the ground, fortunately they escaped (6). While losing everything himself including his home and business burned to the ground Andrew was forced to flee the city after being accused of causing and provoking the riots, he fled to St. Louis. After St. Louis he Minneapolis and sought help from the NAACP. Andrew and his family were never going to be safe to return to Oklahoma at this time (1).
At this point there was danger to himself and his family, he still pushed to tell the world what happened. He fought to get the story out of what had happened that day in Tulsa and to abolish the lynching on a federal level. He persevered and continued to move forward with his life all while doing this. His family and himself moved to Buffalo, NY in 1925. He struggled to find work and provide for his family (4). In 1932 he managed to borrow money to initiate the Buffalo Star to spread information to the African American communities and national news. Through out his career he tirelessly fought for the rights of African Americans. Andrew was described by Randy Krehbiel as a person who “identified vice and corruption where he saw it, and I think he was fearless” (5). There have been books, movies and even an HBO series that highlight the Tulsa Race Riot and Andrew Smitherman’s role. I believe his greatest accomplishment aside from his fight for rights was his admission into the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame.
There is no shortage of love from Andrew Smitherman’s family as well. They fondly remember their husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather. His great granddaughter Raen Majia Willams is working to keep his memory and legacy alive by participating in a documentary of him (5). The family lovingly referred to Andrew as “Big Daddy” (3) and fondly remember his stories and tales. They feel he not only contributed to the African American community but also to the white community with “his peacemaking” (3), I have to agree with this that all benefited from his actions. Andrews family feels it is important to not only “commemorate the people who lost their lives during the massacre but also to represent and to celebrate what had been built” (6). I feel the world will always stand to benefit from men like Andrew Smitherman that encourage others to think for themselves, make their own educated decisions and fight for what they believe in without violence. I feel Andrew was a positive and influential example of all that can be accomplished while remaining calm and persevering for what you believe in and the society you reside in.
Works Cited
(1)Raven Majia Williams, “Black Wall Street 100”, YouTube video, 3:26, June 1, 2020, https://youtu.be/5S7MB7UlsWA
(2)Larry O'Dell, “Smitherman, Andrew J.,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, accessed December 3, 2021, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=SM008.
(3)Raven Maijia Williams, “A.J. Smitherman”, Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame, accessed December 3, 2021, https://okjournalismhalloffame.com/stories/a-j-smitherman-2/
(4)Magliulo, Myrna Colette. "Andrew J. Smitherman: a Pioneer of the African American press, 1909-1961." Afro-Americans in New York Life and History, vol. 34, no. 2, 2010, p. 119+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A236731632/AONE?u=nysl_oweb&sid=AONE&xid=6120ae4b.
(5)Sean Kirst, “In Buffalo, a hero journalist found new life after Tulsa massacre”, The Buffalo News, June 18, 2020, https://buffalonews.com/news/local/in-buffalo-a-hero-
(6)Roland S. Martin, “Atrocity, Total Genocide Of A Community: Descendants of A.F. Smitherman, Tulsa Star Founder Speak”, YouTube video, 15:07, May 30, 2021, https://youtu.be/6BAVRF93lmQ
Comments