,i  #aacth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #ih  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of    
,,representatives  ,january #c1 #bjac   
,mr4 ,conyers introduced the following  
bill2 which was referred to the         
,committee on the ,judiciary  ,a ,,bill 
,to provide a remedy for survivors and  
descendants of the victims of the       
,tulsa1 ,oklahoma ,race ,riot of #aiba4 
#a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited
 as the ,john ,hope ,franklin           
,tulsa-,greenwood ,race ,riot ,claims   
,accountability ,act of #bjac4  #b4     
,findings ,the ,congress makes the      
following findings3  7#a7 ,in #aiba1    
,greenwood 7a community in ,tulsa1      
,oklahoma7 was one of the most          
prosperous ,african-,american           
communities in the ,united ,states4     
,serving over #h1jjj residents1         
,greenwood's commercial district was    
known nationally as the ,negro ,wall    
,street4 ,the community boasted two     
newspapers1 over a dozen churches1 and  
hundreds of ,african-,american-owned    

businesses4  7#b7 ,on the evening of    
,may #ca1 #aiba1 the ,african-,american 
,greenwood community of ,tulsa1         
,oklahoma was ravaged by a ,white mob4  
,by the conclusion of the riot at       
midday1 ,june #a1 virtually every       
building in a #db-square-block area of  
the community--homes1 schools1 churches1
 and businesses--was burned to the      
ground and thousands were left homeless4
 ,over #a1bjj homes were destroyed4     
,every church1 school1 and business in  
,greenwood was set on fire4             
,approximately #h1jjj                   
,african-,americans were left homeless  
and penniless4 ,unable to rebuild1      
thousands of residents spent the winter 
of #aiba-aibb in tents4  7#c7 ,credible 
evidence supports the belief that up to 
#cjj ,african-,americans were killed    
during the riot4 ,as many victims were  
buried in unmarked graves1 an exact     
accounting is impossible4  7#d7 ,in the 
wake of the ,white mob destruction of   
the ,greenwood ,district1 a             

,state-convened grand jury officially   
placed responsibility for the violence  
on the ,african-,american community1    
exonerating ,whites of all              
responsibility4 ,neither the ,state nor 
the city undertook any investigations or
 prosecutions1 and documents relating to
 the riot vanished from ,state archives4
 ,ultimately1 no convictions were       
obtained for the incidents of murder1   
arson1 or larceny connected with the    
riot4  7#e7 ,none of the more than #ajj 
contemporaneously filed lawsuits by     
residents and property owners in        
,greenwood were successful in recovering
 damages from insurance companies to    
assist in the reconstruction of the     
community4 ,after the city attempted to 
block their redevelopment efforts1      
victims were forced to rebuild with     
their own resources or abandon the      
community4  7#f7 ,state and local       
governments suppressed or ignored issues
 and claims arising from the #aiba riot1
 effectively excising it from collective

 memory1 until the ,oklahoma            
,legislature created a commission to    
study the event in #aiig4 ,the          
commission's ,february #bh1 #bjja1      
report uncovered new information and    
detailed1 for the first time1 the extent
 of involvement by the ,state and city  
government in prosecuting and erasing   
evidence of the riot 7,okla4 ,stat4     
,tit4 #gd ,section #hjjj4a 7,west       
#bjje774  7#g7 ,the documentation       
assembled by the #aiba ,tulsa ,race     
,riot ,commission provides strong       
evidence that some local municipal and  
county officials failed to take actions 
to calm or contain the situation once   
violence erupted and1 in some cases1    
became participants in the subsequent   
violence1 and even deputized and armed  
many ,whites who were part of a mob that
 killed1 looted1 and burned down the    
,greenwood area4  7#h7 ,based on new    
information contained in the report1 the
 ,greenwood claimants filed suit1       
pursuant to the laws codified in        

sections #aiha1 #aihc1 and #aihe of     
title #db of the ,united ,states ,code  
and the #adth ,amendment1 seeking       
damages for the injuries sustained in   
the riot as a result of the government's
 involvement4 ,their claims were        
dismissed as time barred by the court1  
and so were not determined on the merits
 7#chb ,f4#c;d #abjf 7#ajth ,cir4       
#bjjd71 rehrg en banc denied 7with      
dissent71 #cia ,f4#c;d #aaee 7#ajth     
,cir4 #bjjd71 cert denied ,alexander v4 
,state of ,oklahoma1 #edd ,u4,s4 #ajdd  
7#bjje774  #c4 ,cause of action  7a7 ,in
 general ,every person who1 in          
connection with the ,tulsa1 ,oklahoma   
race riot of #aiba and its aftermath1   
acted under color of any statute1       
ordinance1 regulation1 custom1 or usage 
of the ,state of ,oklahoma to subject1  
or cause to be subjected1 any person to 
the deprivation1 on account of race1 of 
any right secured at the time of the    
deprivation by ,oklahoma law1 shall be  
liable to the party injured in a civil  

action for redress4  7b7 ,definition ,in
 this section1 the term person includes 
the ,state of ,oklahoma4  7c7           
,limitation on commencement of action ,a
 civil action under this section may not
 be commenced later than #e years after 
the date of the enactment of this ,act4