Have you ever heard of Black Wall Street? Well, hopefully you have. It was one of the most powerful entities that belonged to African Americans. It was the mecca of success. Located in Greenwood, Oklahoma, Black Wall Street was modern, sophisticated, and the envy of its whites’ counterparts.

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The Greenwood community, where black wall street existed, seems almost imagined when we examine it through a historical lens.  The oil booms of the early 1900’s had many moving to Tulsa for a shot at quick economic gains and high life, and African Americans hoped to prosper from the new industry as well.  Tulsa, like many cities and towns throughout the US, was hostilely segregated, with African Americans settling into the northern region of the city.  As we often saw before integration, Blacks in the area created entrepreneurial opportunities for themselves, which housed an impressive business center that included banks, hotels, cafes, clothiers, movie theaters, and contemporary homes.  Greenwood residents enjoyed many luxuries that their White neighbors did not, including indoor plumbing and a remarkable school system that superiorly educated Black children.

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As many know, envy is a powerful emotion and can have devastating results; however, this envy led to a more drastic type of devastating, it led to one of the bloodiest and horrendous acts of terrorism. In May of 1921, Greenwood was attacked, looted, and burned to the ground. More than 300 African Americans lost their lives and over 9000 were left homeless.  In history books, this incident was just a blip on their radar and was considered a “race riot”.

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Here on the Hiram Revels East website, we encourage young African Americans to rejoice in their creativity and their spirit of entrepreneurship by advertising on this page for FREE. To be considered for a placement on this site, please email hre1865@gmail.com