Black Wall St., Tulsa, OK ~ May 30 – June 1, 1921 ~
Remember Black Wall Street and the people who resided there....
Built from the ground up, Black Wall Street needed no outside assistance. Surpassing the neighboring communities where White families resided, many could not quite understand how these previously enslaved “people” could be so successful.
Due to what one would believe to be jealousy and hatred, as History.com calls it, the “self-contained hub” was destroyed. On May 30, 1921, the lie of a White woman, accusing a Black man of sexual assault, started what was one of the worst atrocities committed against mankind. From May 31st until June 1st, Black Wall Street, Tulsa --- 35 square blocks, was looted and burned down leaving what many historians believe to be a few hundred people dead and 10,000 people left homeless.
In memory of the families who suffered at the hands of White Americans who felt it necessary to destroy the lives of many, for generations to come. (We do not own the rights to this image; please visit History.com for more information and images).
Today, and what should be every day, we remember Black Wall Street and the people who resided there. Can you imagine, a community of people who were of African descent building and thriving…together?!?!?! Homes, schools, a hospital, a library, a hotel, a bank, a supermarket, a church…everything that you could imagine that a neighborhood needs, Black Wall Street had.
Today, I celebrate what Black Wall Street means to me. SANKOFA! Knowing where we come from should empower us, push us to want to do more, to be more! Black Wall Street is the best example of what we as a people can do if we were on the same page; if we begin to work together.
When in a world where systemic racism continues to be a reason why our communities continue to fall behind, rebuilding the “Black economic and cultural mecca” that we know existed in Tulsa, Oklahoma seems the only and best way to win.Sankofa...queens! Let's go back and get it!
Queendom Rising!