Black books, African heritage books, mind/body/spirit, The Ancestral Energies Blog by Zhana, author of Success Strategies for Black People and Black Success Stories. African diasporic healing, health and wellness, and success.
Showing posts with label Black Wall Street. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Black Wall Street. Show all posts
We keep learning about massacres in which thriving, prosperous African American communities, such as the Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma were destroyed by white supremacists. So many of these massacres have been forgotten, lost to history, but they are being recalled and their history restored. The destruction of Rosewood in Gainesville, Florida is one such event.
How can we learn from this history to create a better future? Please comment below and please share.
What can we learn from Black history and how can we use this to create a better future? Please post your answers below and please share this with your networks. Thanks.
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.
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.
Saw this awesome Black history film screened by Black History Studies last week.
"The Black Wall Street" was the name given to the thriving community of Greenwood, Oklahoma, which boasted several millionaires. In 1921, Greenwood was attacked and destroyed by white people envious of its success.
Some of those who were children at the time, and saw their homes and community destroyed, are still alive now. "Before They Die" is the title of a documentary about the elderly survivors' fight for justice.
The attack on The Black Wall Street was a horrible atrocity. But we can help the survivors to get justice. We can bring about positive change. We have the power to transform the situation.
We can learn from history. The ancestors want us to heal these terrible, terrible wounds from the past and create the future we deserve.
I am all in favour of Black people taking responsibility for our own development and progress. This is one reason why I publish Black Success Stories.
I also understand the importance of being historically accurate.
The next time someone says Black people need to deal with our own issues and stop blaming white people, tell them about the Black Wall Street.
"The best description of Black Wall Street, or Little Africa as it was also known, would be liken it to a mini-Beverly Hills. It was the golden door of the Black community during the early 1900s, and it proved that African Americans had successful infrastructure. That's what Black Wall Street was all about.
The dollar circulated 36 to 100 times, sometimes taking a year for currency to leave the community. Now in 1995, a dollar leaves the Black community in 15 minutes. As far as resources, there were Ph.D.s residing in Little Africa, Black attorneys and doctors. One doctor was Dr. Berry who owned the bus system. His average income was $500 a day, a hefty pocket change in 1910. " Like many African American communities, it prospered and thrived until destroyed by white people in riots which burned it down, displacing thousands of people.
