Written By Lexx Thornton
Black Wall Street refers most famously to the prosperous African American business district inthe Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma, during the early 20th century. It became asymbol of Black economic success and self-sufficiency, but it wastragically destroyed duringone of the most violent racial massacres in U.S. history. Many residents were highly educated,and the area was home to Black doctors, lawyers, and entrepreneurs. Children went to privateschools in uniforms and had top-tier education. It was dubbed “Black Wall Street” to highlight its economic power and independence—comparable to New York’s Wall Street.
On May 31 and June 1, 1921, the prosperity of Black Wall Street was violently shattered. After aBlack teenager, Dick Rowland was falsely accused of assaulting a white woman, tensions exploded. All they needed was a reason, so they created one. A white mob, backed by city officials and even the National Guard, attacked Greenwood. Over 35 square blocks of the neighborhood were destroyed. 300 Black residents were killed, thousands were left homeless, and hundreds of Black-owned businesses were looted or burned.No white attackers were ever prosecuted.
Mayor of Tulsa, Tulsa’s first black mayor proposed creating a $100 million private trust as part of a reparations plan for the impact of the Tulsa Race Massacre which took place more than 100 years ago.Mayor Monroe Nichols IV, elected mayor in November, says the trust would be used to provide scholarships and housing to the descendants of those impacted by the massacre. He clarified that the trust would not involve direct cash payments, however. The private charitable trust would becreated with a goal to secure $105 million in assets, with most of the funding either secured orcommitted by June 1, 2026. Nichols says the City Council would have to approve the transfer of any city assets to the trust.
The plan calls for the bulk of the funding, $60 million, to go toward improving buildings and revitalizing the city’s north side
