Today , the name “ Black Wall Street ” is tie in with tragedy . The Tulsa , Oklahoma , suburbia of Greenwood became the site of one of the bloodiestracial massacresin U.S. history when angry livid Tulsans targeted it in 1921 . But before it was destruct , the neighborhood was a thriving example of Black prosperity in the early 20th century . The video below offers a rare glimpse at Black Wall Street before the nighttime that made it notorious .
This historical footage of Tulsa ’s Greenwood district was becharm by Baptist pastor and amateur filmmaker Solomon Sir Jones . Due to sequestration natural law , Tulsa ’s blackened resident were forbid from shopping in livid parts of town , so rather they reinvested their money into their neighborhood . This helpedGreenwoodgrow into one of the economical and cultural capital of Black America . The ego - sustaining community was home to a library branch , picture show houses , two newspapers , and a bustling stage business district .
Greenwood ’s progression was erase literally overnight between May 31 and June 1 , 1921 . That ’s when white residents — enraged by a Black teenager ’s alleged transgression against a clean woman — mobbed the locality . The rioter burned down 1200 houses and buildings and kill between 50 and 300 people . In the years adopt the mass murder , there was a cooperative exertion to wipe off it from newspapers and story al-Qur’an . Only recently has this tragic chapter in American story become mainstream knowledge .
In addition to footage from Greenwood ’s golden eld , the television also includes rare clips of the mass murder and its wake . ( Some of it is graphic , so watch with discretion ) . you’re able to translate more fact about Black Wall Street and theTulsa Race Massacre here .
