BLACK HISTORY SPOTLIGHT: BLACK WALL STREET

Monday, February 4, 2008

Many people know the story of THE Rosewood Massacre, but do you know the story about Black Wall Street?

During the oil boom of the 1910s, the area of northeast Oklahoma flourished -— including the Greenwood neighborhood, which came to be known as “the Negro Wall Street” (now commonly referred to as “the Black Wall Street”). The area was home to several prominent black businessmen and families, many of them multimillionaires.

Due to the success of the Greenwood district, many whites in the Tulsa area became resentful and on June 1, 1921, after a series of race riots, “Black Wall Street” was bombed and burned to the ground.

In a period spanning fewer than 12 hours, a once thriving black business district lay in ruins. Among these were 21 churches, 21 restaurants, 30 grocery stores and two movie theaters, plus a hospital, a bank, a post office, libraries, schools, law offices, a half-dozen private airplanes and even a bus system. As many as 3,000 people were killed, and the property damage totaled $1.5 million. Despite the devastation, the community mobilized its resources and rebuilt the Greenwood area within the next five years, but the town never fully recovered.

Make sure you view both video clips for more information and check out the links provided below.