100 Years Since the Destruction of Black Wall Street

Two weeks ago marked the 100th Anniversary of Black Wall Street.  

This documentary by the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), The Legacy of Black Wall Street,  concentrates on the years leading up to the destruction and the massacre which accompanied it.  

Historically, enslaved Black people migrated to the Oklahoma territory in the company of their American Indian owners, as part of the Trail of Tears.  As the land was owned by the Native People, after the Civil War, African Americans were allowed to buy it. They set about building a Black community, Greenwood,Tulsa Oklahoma. 

When oil was discovered, Tulsa became a boom town.  Black people employed by white Oklahomans became wealthy, and their community thrived. Doctors, lawyers and millionaires settled there.  Notably, Black male and female entrepreneurs with vision also settled in Greenwood.  They arrived, not just to make money, but to help Black people to build their own businesses, providing advice and support to budding entrepreneurs.  They were the embodiment of Ujaama - co-operative economics. 

Then, on the 31st of March, 1921, a Black man, Dick Rowland, who went by the name of "Diamond Dick" rode the elevator, just as he had done every day for years.  But on that particular day, the white female elevator operator accused him of assault.  As usual, the alleged assault was used as a pretext for violence.  See also:  White Women's Role in White Supremacy. 

Diamond Dick was arrested and imprisoned prior to standing trial.  A white mob gathered, and we know the rest.  100 years later, this is no less shocking,  And the residents and business owners never received compensation.  

The Legacy of Black Wall Street describes the beauty of Black Wall Street, with its first-class hotel, cinemas screening Black films, and more.  This just goes to show how much was lost.  Black Wall Street gave people hope that things could improve.  It proved to Black people that they could aim high.  Similarly to such great figures as Harriet Tubman, it represented Black people's dreams, ambitions and aspirations, and proved that they were possible to achieve.  Thus, it was a threat to white supremacists, who wanted only to keep Black people down.  

See also:  The Black Wall Street - Before They Die.  

We know now that many other thriving Black communities were similarly attacked and destroyed by white supremacists.  Go here for Rosewood.  

Do you think this kind of destruction could still happen today?  And what can we do to prevent this from happening?  What solutions should we employ?  Please leave your comments below and please share this with your networks.  Thanks.  

Go here for more Black history blog posts.  

 

Black Unemployment Rate Twice That of the White Population

Dr. Boyce Watkins

In The Five Things I Hate about Being a Black Entrepreneur, Dr. Boyce Watkins has outlined some of the challenges Black entrepreneurs face.  One of them is that the Black unemployment rate in the United States is typically twice as high as that of white people.  In other words, we have half the amount of disposable income white people have to invest in our own, and each other's, businesses.

If you are ready to start using more effective ways to find the job you want, check out my blog post, Black Success:  Finding the Job You Want.  It links to my free job search consultations.

Please share this with your networks and anyone who can benefit from it.  Thanks. 

The Gentrification of Peckham and Other Black Areas

I enjoyed this event on Saturday.  As I live just down the road from Peckham, South London, and have for many years, I was particularly interested in this topic. 

Like pretty much all of the events held by London Black History Walks, "The Gentrification of Peckham and Other Black Areas" as very well presented.  It started with Tony Warner going through a short history of migration and gentrification which took in the Black history o f London from Roman times to the present day, including the Elizabethan era and the two World Wars, as well as the experience of Black people in Brooklyn, including Spike Lee, and in South Africa and Zimbabwe.  

Back in the 1950s and '60s, many Black people in London and the UK were forced to become homeowners, as this was the only way to provide accommodation for themselves and their families.  

The authorities will sometimes allow local areas to become run down in order to make them more attractive to investors.   This has also involved encouraging the use of drugs and guns in Black areas.  There is evidence of this in the U.S., and he referred to "Operation Jackpot" in Stoke Newington in Hackney, East London.  

Tony's presentations are always packed with factual details and always highly engaging.  

The presentation by Charmaine Brown focused specifically on Peckham and covered the area's history as well as reviewing how much Peckham has changed.  

Brown clarified the distinction between improvements and gentrification.  The Council first started making improvements to the area several years ago.  However, with gentrification, a new type of resident moved in - people who do not have any investment in the "social capital" of the area.  

She characterised "social capital" as a personal interest and investment in, and involvement with, the local area, its people and its culture.  Thus, there is often a divide between the current residents and those moving into the area.  Added to this is the fact that, with property prices skyrocketing, locals often feel unable to own their own homes, and can find themselves moved out of the area completely. 

Like many of the Queen Nzingha lectures, this one left me feeling sadness and frustration.  Althought the problem was well explained and illustrated, there was little focus on solutions.  

I was particularly saddened by a short film featuring author Alex Wheatle, in which he talked about the ways in which the Brixton and Tulse Hill areas have changed.  He walked around Brixton Market but did not mention that none of the shops and businesses inside the market are Black-owned.  They are all owned by white and Asian business owners.  It was like that more than 30 years ago, when I first came to London, and it's still like that now. 

He also stated that Dick Sheppard School in Tulse Hill has been closed and replaced with a gated community.  Again, this was particularly sad for me as, many years ago,  I used to teach at a Saturday school based there.  

We need to focus more on solutions, and on actions steps we can take today, here and now, such as, for example, those described in Maggie Anderson's Empowerment Experiment and Our Black Year.  We need to take ownership of our communities. 

To read about The Empowerment Experiment and Our Black Year, and to watch a video about them, see Strong Black Business Community.  

Black Success: How to Attract a Steady Stream of Customers

There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of customers who want and need what your business is offering. 

We often get distracted by silly things.  But when we focus, we can come up with a never-ending stream of creative ideas and strategies to have customers banging on our doors. 

Please listen to the short audio below to find ways to grow your business.   

If you would like to ask me a question about how to grow your business, please post it in the comments section below.   

Click here for more Black Success audios.  

Current Books Podcasts at Blog Talk Radio with Zhana21 on BlogTalkRadio

Why Are There No Black Entrepreneurs?

Okay, so this guy - founder of Tech Crunch Michael Arrington - is saying he cannot name ONE SINGLE BLACK ENTREPRENEUR in Silicone Valley. In fact, he seems to be saying there are NO BLACK ENTREPRENEURS at all!

So I must be a figment of your imagination. In fact, you are not reading this at all.

Obviously, our brains are too tiny.

Click here for free advice from Black business experts.

Building Wealth: Learn from Experience

Did you know that John H. Johnson, founder of Ebony magazine and the Johnson publishing empire, studied biographies of Black achievers and freedom fighters such as Booker T. Washington and Frederick Douglass? It was important to him to follow their examples as he climbed from poverty to wealth and business success.

For more about the importance of positive role models, see Do You Think Like a Success?

For more about John H. Johnson and other African American achievers, see Black Wealth.

Here's to your success!

More Black Success

After 15 years of drug addiction, Joseph Chapman was in a county jail cell when he decided to turn his life around and overcome substance abuse. Now he helps other African Americans to do the same.

Michael Taylor speaks about how he went from bankrupt, depressed and stressed to being a successful entrepreneur writer/publisher.

These are just two of the stories in the More Black Success free eBooks.

Get your copies of these and lots of other free eBooks here:

http://www.black-success.com/freeebooks.htm

Conversations with Interesting Black People

I love publishing. I get to meet so many interesting people, online and offline.

I love discovering more and more interesting and successful people of African heritage. Coaches, mentors, people who motivate others and who are willing to share their secrets with my readers and me.

I got a message from Bro Bedford, author of Conversations with Black Millionaires, the other day. He basically said, 'Well done, keep up the good work'. It was so kind - he didn't have to say this. He doesn't even know me! That one message put a smile on my face all day.

You can download his free eBook, How to Be a Black Entrepreneur, from my site at
http://www.black-success.com/freeebooks.htm

By the way, you can read an interview with Black millionaire Randal Pinkett at:
http://www.blacksuccess1.com/randalpinkett.htm

Another person I have met online is Sandra Rafaela, who publishes the Black Authors page on her site for Afro European Sisters. Check this out: http://www.aesn.eu/bwie/black_authors.html

She has a new site, Women of the African Diaspora, which she has put together with Adrianne George of Black Women in Europe: http://www.aesn.eu/bwie/index.html

Looking to Publish Inspirational and Motivational Articles

I am seeking nonfiction articles by and about people of African descent for publication in my More Black Success series of eBooks.

If you have an inspirational or motivational article or true story to tell, check this out: http://www.black-success.com/storieswanted.htm

Themes may include:

· overcoming blocks and obstacles
· mistakes and what you have learned from them
· what inspires you
· how you keep going when things are tough
· yoga
· meditation
· healing
· complimentary therapy
· Kwanzaa
· African traditions

For more details, contact info@blacksuccess1.com