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Last year in 2018, Forbes released a list detailing 10 places in America African-Americans are thriving and living their best lives, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, was not listed or mentioned. Ironically, about 100 years ago, Tulsa’s suburb of Greenwood was a cultural mecca of Black leadership and excellence. Unfortunately many will not know the story of what was then known as “Little Africa,” and later designated “Black Wall Street.” Thankfully, HBO’s new series, Watchmen (starring Regina King), shined a light on an act of domestic terror America hides daily.
By design, Black Wall Street was more of a town than a single street taking root in northern Tulsa. In the early 1900s, Tulsa, like much of America, was deeply divided, segregated and plagued with racial inequalities. Chasing the American dream and the hope of riches during the Oklahoma oil boom, Black families and Black entrepreneurs built the suburb of Greenwood.
This predominantly African-American suburb was a cultural anomaly drenched in Black beauty and wealth. Black Wall Street featured businesses, homes, restaurants, theaters and some of the best schools in the nation where Black children were educated to the highest standards. According to research by the NAACP, Black dollars stayed in the Black community and aided in its wealth. Black dollars would be circulated within Greenwood 36 days of a 100-day cycle as opposed to six hours in today’s Black economy. That basic principle of Black-owned and Black supported would ultimately lead to the envy of many poor white residents in Tulsa.
Greenwood Community was home to thousands of diverse African-Americans and the events of Tuesday, May 31, 1921 – Wednesday, June 1, 1921, forever changed the direction of this beautiful community.
With accusations of alleged sexual assault from a young white woman, white police deputized white racist to attack. Even the Oklahoma National Guard swarmed Little Africa and obliterated the thriving suburb. Now known as the “Tulsa Race Riot,” domestic terrorism reigned down on the small community for 16 hours as it was defended by Black World War I veterans and others. The Historical Society of Tulsa files suggest when the community was bombed and burned down, over 800 people were admitted to surrounding hospitals, an estimated 10,000 were left homeless, 35 city blocks housing 1,256 residences were destroyed and 600 successful businesses were lost, including 21 restaurants, 30 grocery stores, two movie theaters and a hospital. During what is called one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history by many historians, an estimated 300+ Black people lost their lives and over 6,000 were detained and arrested.
Following the attack, residents who lost everything and some still living in tents began rebuilding. Black development again took root and Greenwood reestablished itself as a Black mecca of success well into the following decades. During the progressive movement toward desegregation during the 1950s and '60s, the once-thriving Greenwood community started to decline with Blacks exiting for other areas and more integrated opportunities.
Black Wall Street will forever serve as another historical example of enterprise and ingenuity in Black culture. In 2017 African-American consumers accounted for 1.5 trillion dollars in the American economy. Although mixed with some facts and fiction, HBO’s new series is helping to shine a light on a historical moment and the residual racism that still seeps into our society a century later.
