The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921: Toward an Integrative Theory of Collective Violence

Studies of race riots have identified several underlying conditions that contribute to their onset. This study builds on previous research and introduces an integrative approach for examining riots that includes the role of population characteristics, contextual factors, and cultural ideologies. An integrative approach is applied through a case study of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. In addition to highlighting relevant structural and contextual under pinnings, this approach also emphasizes the role of racial frames, or lenses through which racial groups view and interpret events and conditions differenctially.