Murder In The Streets: A White Choctaw Witness To The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Phillips, William C.: - William C. Choc Phillips was born Dec. 1, 1901, in Greer County, Okla., and moved with his family to Tulsa in 1918. His lineage?In 1921 he was attending high school in Tulsa and working as an usher at the Royal Theatre. On May 31, 1921, Phillips was an eyewitness to violence and destruction in Tulsa that became known as the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. It was an incident that would be embedded in his memories for his entire life.Following high school, Phillips pursued a career in show business as a vaudeville performer and show manager. In 1938 he was a founding member of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (SPEBSQSA), which would later be known as the Barbershop Quartet Society. Phillips also joined the Tulsa Police Department in 1938 as a member of their barbershop singing quartet that toured the United States promoting Tulsa.During World War II, Phillips served in the U.S. Coast Guard before returning to his duties with Tulsa Police Department. During his police career, he was the president of the Fraternal Order of Police, formed the School Crossing Guard Program for the Tulsa public school system, and helped develop the Tulsa Police Retirement program that became a model for departments nationwide.After retiring from the Tulsa Police Department, he became a cattle rancher in Leonard, Okla. In 1988 Phillips decided to put his memories and research of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre on paper and called on his niece, Stephanie Maggio, to assist him with the project. He continued ranching until his death on Dec. 10, 1991.He was married to Annalee Elaine, his sweetheart whom he met while singing with his barbershop quartet group and the Tulsa Sweet Adelines, of which Elaine was a member. They had two children, Larry and Susan.