Remembering Tulsa

Naomi Osaka, Joe Biden's Venmo, and all things Mare of Easttown

THE BIG STORY   As Tulsa marked 100 years since the massacre on Black Wall Street, the remaining survivors continued to demand justice.   People gathered in Tulsa, Oklahoma Monday to mark the centennial of the Tulsa massacre, when a white mob attacked and burned a thriving Black neighborhood with the support of law enforcement. An estimated 300 Black people were killed as homes and businesses in the Greenwood district, known then as Black Wall Street, were burned to the ground, with thousands forced into homelessness after fleeing.   Over two days, the mob destroyed roughly 1,500 homes and burned at least 60 successful Black-owned businesses. Airplanes flew overhead, shooting at those fleeing and dropping bombs on buildings. Pictures of the aftermath show scorched trees, entire structures razed to rubble, and Black bodies lying in the streets of Tulsa.   "We can only get one 100-year celebration in a lifetime," said Lashadion Shemwell, 34, who'd traveled to Tulsa for the first time from Houston with his mother, aunt, uncle, fiancé, and six children. "It was important for us to bring our children and be a part of it and just learn this history, because history repeats itself."   Two of the three living survivors of the massacre — Viola Fletcher, 107, and her younger brother Hughes Van Ellis, 100 — were in attendance. Local musicians sang, drummed, and danced, while the crowd was asked to pick up soil, a tangible piece of history, and place it in jars to remember the dead.   With the three remaining survivors all over 100 years old, the immediate need for reparations was obvious to many in attendance Monday morning. "Having that experience, that tragedy, that memory, and just wanting them to have some kind of peace," said 35-year-old Tulsa resident LaBrenda Washington Hutchinson. Survivor Viola Fletcher is given flowers during a soil dedication ceremony for victims of the 1921 Tulsa massacre on May 31. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images In May, survivors of the massacre delivered terrifying testimony in a Congressional hearing.   "I still see Black men being shot and Black bodies lying in the street," 107-year-old Viola Fletcher, the oldest living survivor of the massacre, told lawmakers at a House Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Subcommittee hearing.   Her brother, 100-year-old Hughes Van Ellis, told lawmakers that the Tulsa massacre was not simply a footnote in history for him and other survivors. "We live with it every day and the thought of what Greenwood was and what it could have been," he said. "We aren't just black-and-white pictures on a screen. We are flesh and blood." SNAPSHOTS   Calls are mounting for greater accountability and a search for more unmarked graves in Canada after the discovery last week of 215 bodies at a former school for Indigenous children. On Monday, the national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, said the find should be a "catalyst" for further work uncovering these graves at school sites throughout the country.   Naomi Osaka withdrew from the French Open after sharing how press conferences were hurting her mental health. "The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that," the 23-year-old said. "Anyone that knows me knows I'm introverted, and anyone that has seen me at tournaments will notice that I'm often wearing headphones as that helps dull my social anxiety."   Venmo will now let you make your friend list private after a BuzzFeed News story uncovered Joe Biden's account. Venmo confirmed it is adding a feature that would let people set their friend list to private or visible only to their friends. Two weeks ago, we used public friend lists to find the president, the first lady, and members of their immediate family, showing how the app can put people at risk.   Texas Democrats are demanding an investigation following a BuzzFeed News report on the real death toll of the state's winter storm. No Republicans returned requests for comment. The official death toll stands at 151, but by analyzing how many people died during and right after the storm than would have been expected given trends, we estimate the closer toll is closer to 700. BECAUSE OF COURSE THEY DID   A bill creating a commission to investigate the Capitol riot was defeated after nearly every Senate Republican voted against it.   Senate Republicans blocked the creation of an independent bipartisan commission on the Jan. 6 attack on Capitol Hill. The commission would have investigated the attack, which contributed to the deaths of five people, but it risked unwelcome attention on former president Donald Trump's responsibility.   The Senate voted 54–35 Friday in favor of advancing a bill to launch an inquiry. But despite majority support, the bill came short of the 60 votes needed to overcome the Senate filibuster. The bill now dies on the Senate floor, the first Democratic priority to be formally filibustered in the Biden era. MUST-SEE TV We need to talk about Mare of Easttown.    On Sunday night, HBO crime drama Mare of Easttown came to an end. Boasting Kate Winslet in the title role, twisty plotlines, and breakneck pacing, the series earned fans aplenty over the course of its seven-episode run.    Over at the BuzzFeed News culture desk, we miserably wondered what we would do on Sunday nights without our favorite show and decided to deal with our malaise by discussing everything about Mare, from the theories to the disappointments and that devastating ending. Spoilers ahead! Stay on your grind, but don't lose sight of what really matters this week, Brandon 📝  This letter was edited and brought to you by Elamin Abdelmahmoud and BuzzFeed News. You can always reach us here.     👉 Your support of BuzzFeed's journalism does not constitute a charitable donation, and your contribution is not eligible for a tax-deduction. This is part of an effort to explore a deeper relationship with our most active supporters. 🔔  Want to be notified as soon as news breaks? 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