Thursday, February 5, 2015

Black Wall Street - #BlackHistoryFact

During the early 20th Century, there was a community in Tulsa, Oklahoma known as Greenwood.  Greenwood became affectionately known as "the Negro Wall Street", now more commonly referred to as "the Black Wall Street", due to number of successful businesses in this predominately black populated community.  This community held 600 businesses, 21 churches, 21 restaurants, 30 grocery stores, 2 movie theatres, 6 private airplanes plus a hospital, bank, post office, schools, libraries, law offices and even a bus system.  The dollar would circulate more than 36 times, sometimes taking more than a year before leaving the community.  This community flourished until the 1921 attack on the community that became known as the "Tulsa Race Riots".  Numerous witness accounts described airplanes carrying white assailants, who fired rifles and dropped firebombs on buildings, homes, and fleeing families.

The below photograph is of a few of the proud businessmen of "Black Wall Street". 

Knowledge is power!


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