Tom Hanks acknowledges his own guilt in powerful essay about teaching the history of racism

Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
(Image credit: Rich Fury/Getty Images)

Tom Hanks expressed guilt over his role in an industry that "helps shape what is history and what is forgotten" in a powerful op-ed for The New York Times about the strikingly overlooked 1921 Tulsa race massacre. In the essay, published Friday, Hanks described himself as "a lay historian," but confessed to knowing nothing about the murder of as many as 300 Black residents at the hands of a white supremacist mob until last year.

"History was mostly written by white people about white people like me, while the history of Black people — including the horrors of Tulsa — was too often left out," he writes. "Until relatively recently, the entertainment industry, which helps shape what is history and what is forgotten, did the same. That includes projects of mine."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.