HCAR Works-in-Progress Seminar: Dr. Aaron Schoenfeldt

Join us for a Works-in-Progress seminar featuring Duane H. King Postdoctoral Fellow, Dr. Aaron Schoenfeldt, who will explore the histories and silences surrounding the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Drawing on historian Elaine Frantz Parsons’ observation that “we spend as much time contemplating what we imagine is hidden from us as we do describing the Klan based on the ample information we have,” this talk examines the possible involvement of the Ku-Klux Klan in the massacre. Rather than seeking a definitive answer, Schoenfeldt considers how the Klan, both as an organization and as a symbol, embodies the enduring “culture of silence” that continues to shape understanding of this pivotal moment in Tulsa’s past.

Works-in-progress seminars nurture a community of local and regional researchers, scholars, and learners by providing opportunities to share creative activity in a constructive environment. Each seminar focuses on a pre-circulated draft that attendees are encouraged to read, followed by a roundtable conversation about the piece.