Black Wall Street
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Description
Tour of Black Wall Street. Begins with the first business in Greenwood and ends with an explanation of the 1921 Massacre of Black Wall Street.
1. Gurley's Rooming House
O.W Gurley had a vision of creating a self-contained community of Black people that focused on uplifting each other and gaining financial and communal success. After buying 40 acres of land in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Gurley began his first business: a rooming house on Greenwood Avenue. Unbeknownst to him at the time, this was the very beginning of Black Wall Street. The rooming house became very popular and useful, even acting as a safe haven for African American migrants fleeing the oppression in Mississippi. Greenwood was deemed a safe space, as the racial persecution from the south was non-existent on Greenwood Avenue.
2. Stradford Hotel (1918-1921)
Along with O.W Gurley, J.B. Stradford came to Tulsa, Oklahoma to create an environment where Black people pooled their resources together and supported one another to ensure success for all. Stradford went on to build and own the 55-room luxury Stradford Hotel, which is said to be the largest Black-owned hotel in the country at the time. Stradford eventually became the richest person in the Greenwood community and possibly the richest person of color in the country, amassing a net worth of over $2 million (adjusted for inflation). Stradford was one of many that found great financial success in Greenwood. Following the 1921 Massacre, he was named one of the main instigators of the “riot”, with a penalty of life in prison or death. Stradford was accused and arrested without evidence but able to escape the detention center and avoid getting caught, although never again able to reach the fortune he once had.
3. Vernon AME Church
Vernon AME Church was founded in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1905. The construction for the current location began in 1914 and the basement was completed in 1919. During the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, many African American residents hid in the basement kitchen. The church was damaged badly and the basement is the only part of the building that wasn’t completely destroyed. Vernon AME Church is the only Greenwood building still in existence that survived the 1921 Race Massacre in Tulsa. Greenwood’s Historic Vernon AME Church is right across the street from The Greenwood Cultural Center. The church serves food to homeless Tulsans daily. If you come at the right time, you may be lucky enough to get a free personal tour inside the church.
4. StandPipe Hill
Greenwood grew to be self-reliant and self-contained, not needing white people to act as their doctors nor lawyers. This specific street contained numerous expensive homes where the wealthy Greenwood citizens lived. This includes the lawyers, business owners, doctors, and more who reached peak status in Greenwood. Almost all of these homes were burnt down in the 1921 Massacre of Black Wall Street, greatly due to the jealousy of white citizens nearby.
5. Deep Greenwood
The intersection of Archer and Greenwood, known as Deep Greenwood, “served as a model African-American community to towns worldwide.” Here businesses flourished with numerous lined up down the streets, with such variety. All over Greenwood stood businesses that helped the community thrive. From the Gurley Hotel to Williams Confectionary to Mabel Little’s famous beauty parlor to Pressley’s Little Bell Café, Greenwood truly had it all. Even being home to two local newspapers, the Tulsa Star and the Oklahoma Sun. Sadly, all of these thriving businesses were burnt to the ground amidst the 1921 Massacre of Black Wall Street.
6. Drexel Building
On Memorial Day of 1921, May 30, the preliminary event of the 1921 Massacre of Black Wall Street occurred. It was here at the Drexel Building, closed for Memorial Day, where Black 19-year old shoe shiner Dick Rowland and white 17-year old elevator operator Sarah Page crossed paths, the event that ultimately brought about the end of Black Wall Street. Rowland worked at a parlor near Drexel Building and regularly used the top floor bathroom in the Drexel Building as it was the only one nearby that he was permitted to use. Therefore it is safe to say that Page and Rowland had crossed paths before. On May 30, a clerk working on the first floor of the Drexel Building heard what sounded like a woman’s scream and witnessed Rowland running from the scene. Authorities were quickly alerted.
7. Tulsa City Jail
Following the events at the Drexel Building, Dick Rowland was brought to the Tulsa city jail under a lowkey investigation. The exact details of the incident at the Drexel Building remained unclear, however. The written account of Page’s testimony has not been recovered, but it is safe to say that authorities came to the conclusion that whatever happened at Drexel Building was not assault. A widely accepted explanation today is that Rowland grabbed Pages’ hand as he tripped leaving the elevator. Nonetheless, the Tulsa Tribune published an article claiming Rowland’s guilt in assaulting Sarah Page. After receiving threats to Rowland’s life, the police commissioner ordered his transfer to the County Jail, in an attempt to keep him safe from the angry white mobs that were bound to form.
8. Tulsa County Courthouse
By nightfall on May 31st, enraged white mobs began to crowd around Tulsa County Courthouse, demanding Dick Rowland be handed over to be lynched for his assault on Sarah Page. The citizens of Greenwood were determined to protect Rowland, and with the recent fire of WW1 in their hearts, many veterans went to the courthouse with guns to assist the police in protecting Rowland. This move dictated the end of Black Wall Street. Upon their arrival, many in the white mob rushed home to retrieve their own guns. Outnumbered, the Black men defending Rowland were forced to retreat back to Greenwood, with the white mobs close behind. What ensued next was 2 days of devastation and massacre. Aided by the negligence of police officers and firefighters, the white mobs went on to completely destroy Greenwood, burning down 35 blocks of homes, offices, and businesses, and murder over 300 Greenwood residents.
