(Source Black History):
Established in 1906, Black Wall Street (originally known as Greenwood Avenue) was a prominent African American community located in the Greenwood District in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sadly in 1921, the whole neighborhood was burned down after being attacked by a white lynch mob.
During those days, there were no laws that supported humans rights or defended Blacks from the racial segregation, discrimination, and violence that was very prevalent in those days. Because of this, any type of flourishing Black community was automatically perceived as a threat – and Black Wall Street was just that! It was a very strong community of more than 10,000 Black residents who owned their own businesses, schools, restaurants, hotels, a hospital, a bank, and more. Across the community’s 40 acres, there was also a equal distribution of wealth among its middle and upper classes.
But this infuriated racist whites. In fact, because of the oil boom in the state of Oklahoma, many Black residents, although still considered to be second class citizens, received better economic opportunities than their white neighbors. This sparked an outrage of hatred and lies towards Black people, accusing them of crimes that they didn’t commit.
It eventually came to down to a false accusation of an attempted sexual assault that motivated a lynch mob to take action. And their idea of justice was to take down Black Wall Street. And so, on May 31, 1921, not only did they burn down all the Black businesses and more than 1,000 homes, but they also murdered hundreds of the residents. Even worse, when the Black residents tried to defend themselves, thousands of them were arrested by police.
It was one of the largest massacres of Black citizens in America, and it all happened in just 16 hours!
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