The May 31 , 1921 edition of the '' Tribune '' included an inflammatory front-page story entitled " Nab Negro for Attacking Girl in Elevator " , about what was later found to be an accidental encounter between a white elevator operator and a black teenager , Dick Rowland . The '' Tribune 's '' story is frequently named as a contributing factor in the Tulsa race riot that broke out on June 1 , 1921 and led to the destruction of the then-prosperous African-American Greenwood business district . It has been claimed that the same issue of the '' Tribune '' also contained a second article , or an editorial , reporting on plans by white residents to lynch Rowland . All originals of this edition of the newspaper were apparently destroyed , and the relevant pages are also missing from the microfilm copy , so the facts remain in dispute
Tulsa race riot
Tulsa race riot
Tulsa Tribune