Moment in Our History
Many Thanks To Our Forefathers, 88 yrs. ago.

The Date Was June 1, 1921,

"BLACK WALLSTREET"

The name fittingly given to one of the most affluent All-BLACK Communities in America, was bombed from the air and Burnedto the ground by mobs of envious Whites.In a period spanning fewer than 12 hours, a once thriving BlackBusiness District in northern Tulsa lay smoldering -- a modelCommunity destroyed and a major African-American economicmovement resoundingly defused.

The Night's Carnage left some 3,000 African Americans Deadand over 600 Successful Businesses Lost.Among these were 21 Churches, 21 Restaurants, 30 GroceryStores and 2 Movie Theaters, plus A Hospital, A Bank,a Post Office, Libraries, Schools, Law Offices, a half dozenPrivate Airplanes and even A Bus System.As could have been expected, the impetus behind it all was the infamous Ku Klux Klan, working in consort withRanking City Officials and many other Sympathizers.

The best description of BLACK WALLSTREET, or Little Africa as it was also known would be to compare it to a mini
Beverly Hills. It was the golden door of the BLACK Community during the early 1900s, and it proved that African Americans could create a successful infrastructure.

That's What BLACK WALLSTREET, Was All About.

The Dollar circulated 36 to 100 Times, sometimes taking a year for currency to leave the Community. Now a Dollar leaves the BLACK Community in 15-minutes. As Far As Resources,There were Ph.D.'s residing in Little Africa, BLACK Attorneys  and Doctors.

One Doctor was Dr. Berry who owned the Bus System. His average income was $500 a Day, a hefty pocket change in 1910. It was a time when the entire State of Oklahoma had only 2 Airports, yet 6 BLACKS, Owned their own Planes. It was a very Fascinating Community.  The mainstay of the Community was to educate every child.

Nepotism was the one word they Believed in. And that's what we need to get back to. The main thoroughfare was Greenwood Avenue, and it was intersected by Archer and Pine Streets.From the First Letters in each of those Three Names you get G.A.P. And that's where the renowned R and B Music Group The GAP Band got its name. They're From Tulsa.

Black Wall Street was a prime example of the typical, Black Community in America that did businesses, but it was in an unusual location. You See, At The Time, Oklahoma was set aside to be a BLACK and Indian State.  There were over 28 BLACK Townships there.  One third of the People who traveled in the terrifying "Trail of Tears" along side the Indians between 1830 and 1842 were BLACK People.  The Citizens of this proposed Indian and BLACK State Chose A BLACK Governor, A Treasurer from Kansas namedMcDade.  But the Ku Klux Klan said that if he assumed Office that they would Kill Him within 48 hours.

A lot of BLACKS owned Farmland, and many of them had gone into the Oil Business.  The Community was so tight and Wealthy because they traded Dollars hand-to-hand, and because they were dependent upon one another as a result of the Jim Crow Laws.  It was not unusual that if a Resident's Home accidentally Burned down, it could be rebuilt within a few weeks by Neighbors.  This was the type of scenario that was going on Day-to-Day on BLACK WALLSTREET.

When BLACKs intermarried into the Indian Culture, some of them received their promised '40 Acres and A Mule' and with that came whatever Oil was later found on the Properties.

On BLACK WALLSTREET,A lot of Global Business was conducted, The Community flourished from the Early 1900s until June 1, 1921. That's when the Largest Massacre of Nonmilitary Americans in the History of this Country took place, and it was lead by the Ku Klux Klan.   Imagine walking out of your front door and seeing 1,500 Homes being Burned. It must have been amazing.

Survivors we interviewed think that the whole thing was planned because during the time that all of this was going on; White Families with their children stood around the borders of their Community and watched The Massacre. The looting and everything -- much in the same manner they would watch a Lynching.

The Riots weren't caused by anything Black or White.  It was caused by jealousy. A lot of White Folks had come back from World War I andthey were poor. When they looked over into The BLACK Communities andrealized that BLACK Men who Fought in The War had come,Home Heroes that helped trigger the destruction. It cost the BLACK Community everything, and not a singledime of restitution--No Insurance Claims--has been awardedthe victims to this day.

Nonetheless, they rebuilt. We estimate 1,500 to 3,000 People were Killed and we knowthat a lot of them were Buried in Mass Graves all around the City. Some were thrown into the river.As a matter of fact, at 21st Street and Yale Avenue, wherethere now stands a Sears Parking Lot, that corner used tobe a Coal Mine.They threw a lot of the Bodies into the Shafts.

Something To Motivate Us All.