December 2, 2014
The Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, housed one of the most successful Black economies in American history. The area is, now, commonly referred to as “The Black Wall Street.” Most of the businesses and homes were burned down in the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921.
Money Stayed Inside the Community
The dollar circulated 36 to 100 times in this tight-knit community, according to sfbayview.com. A single dollar might have stayed in Tulsa for almost a year before leaving the Black community. Comparatively in modern times, a dollar can circulate in Asian communities for a month, Jewish communities for 20 days and white communities for 17, but it leaves the modern-day Black community in six hours, according to reports from the NAACP.
People in Tulsa Were Leading in Luxury Possessions
In a time when the entire state of Oklahoma had only two airports, six Black families owned their own planes. The average income for a Black family was well over what minimum wage is today. Dr. Simon Berry, who owned the bus system in Tulsa, recalls that in 1910 his average income was around $500 a day, according to reports from sfbayview.com.
The Body Count of the Tulsa Race Riot
When the community was burned down in the Tulsa Race Riot, over 800 people were admitted to surrounding hospitals, an estimated 10,000 were left homeless, 35 city blocks housing 1,256 residences were destroyed, and 600 successful businesses were lost, including 21 restaurants, 30 grocery stores, two movie theaters and a hospital. The Ku Klux Klan-led riot lasted for over 16 hours.
Desegregation Killed the Resurgence of Black Wall Street
In the initial years after the riot, surviving residents began to rebuild the once-vibrant city. It thrived again until the desegregation of the 1950s and ’60s began to entice the Black people of the time to live elsewhere, causing Black Wall Street to never again be what it once was.
What Happened to the Bodies of Those Who Died After the Riot?
No one knows exactly how many bodies were buried after the riot burned down the city.
“Many of the survivors mentioned bodies were stacked like cord wood,” says Richard Warner of the Tulsa Historical Society.
The Tulsa Race Riot Commission conducted archeological digs to test the soil for unmarked graves around the area. The test revealed that hundreds of bodies had been buried outside of the cemetery.
The Creation of Black Wall Street Was Intentional
In 1906, O.W. Gurley, a wealthy African-American from Arkansas, moved to Tulsa and purchased over 40 acres of land that he made sure was only sold to other African-Americans. Gurley also used the area to give refuge to African-Americans running from the harsh oppression of Mississippi.