History can draw some strange parallels sometimes. Two horrid massacres, though completely disconnected, reflect the level of discrimination that existed in the early 20th century in Japan and the United States.

Soon after the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923, amid the ruined cities of Yokohama and Tokyo, rumors spread that Korean immigrants were poisoning wells and starting fires. When the Japanese citizens heard this, they quickly formed vigilante groups with the blessing of the local police and military. These vigilantes roamed the cities, killing any Koreans they could find. Some Chinese immigrants and even Japanese that could not prove who they were will also killed. The actual number of people murdered is unknown, but estimates range between 2,000 and 7,000.

There is a museum in Tokyo called The History Museum of J-Koreans that chronicles the events of that time. (Unfortunately, the museum is attached to the Korean embassy, so you need to make an appointment to view the exhibits.)

The museum's exhibit on this horrid event asserts that the Japanese authorities deliberately spread the false rumors, and the vigilante groups were formed and "acted under the auspices of the army and police forces that were mobilized by the state under this period of martial law."

The problem is that the Japanese government has not investigated this massacre or apologized for it. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike continues to ignore any memorial ceremonies for the Korean victims, breaking with what past governors customarily have done.

Another massacre occurred across the globe in the United States during the same time period. This terrible event in May of 1921 was not as deadly as the one mentioned above, but it did uproot the lives of thousands of African Americans living in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

At the time, Tulsa was a very segregated city. Most of Tulsa's 10,000 Black residents lived in the Greenwood neighborhood, which included a thriving business district often referred to as the "Black Wall Street."

A rumor was started about a teenage Black boy that sexually assaulted a white woman in an elevator. The boy was arrested by the police and held at the local courthouse. That evening an angry mob of white men descended on the courthouse, demanding that the police give them the teenager. Wild rumors about a Black uprising, or insurrection, was starting, which riled up the local white population into action.

Over the next several hours, groups of white men attacked any Black people they could find at that hour, even killing some of them in cold blood. Adding to the hysteria were rumors that Blacks from surrounding towns were coming to Tulsa to participate in the insurrection. By the next morning, thousands of white citizens went into the Greenwood neighborhood and proceeded to set fire to every home and business. At the end of the day the entire neighborhood was in ruins, and many of its Black citizens arrested. In the end, on official records only 36 people died, though historians estimate over 300 were killed. 

There are many parallels between these two events. Both started based on rumors. Both were escalated and enabled by the police and local authorities. And both were hidden from public view, omitted from many history books. More recently the truth about these incidents is being revealed by the media, rightfully so. We cannot learn from history if it is hidden.