The Rise and Fall of Black Wall Street

We have been told the American Revolution was fought over taxation and representation. But that's not what the Declaration of Independence says. According to our founders, in their own words, what they were most upset about was Native Americans. How does a whole country miss a po ...  Show more

July 14, 1850. At a swanky hotel in Apalachicola, Florida, the French consul is throwing a Bastille Day party, and he's promised his guests ice-cold champagne. There's just one problem: the town's ice shipment is delayed, and in 1850, you can't simply make ice. Or can you? Enter ...  Show more

In 1921, Tulsa, Oklahoma boasted one of the nation’s most prosperous African-American communities. Greenwood was home to 108 Black-owned businesses, two theaters, 15 physicians, two newspapers, and a luxury hotel. It was nicknamed “the Black Wall Street.”Then, on May 30th, a Blac ...  Show more

From May 31 to June 1, 1921, a white mob attacked residents, homes and businesses in the predominantly Black ‘Greenwood District’ of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hundreds of people died or were injured in the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921— the event remains one of the worst incidents of racial ...

Greenwood was a flourishing and prosperous black neighbourhood of Tulsa, often referred to as Black Wall Street. But in May 1921, a white mob descended on the district, destroying homes, businesses and lives. In this Witness History, Josephine Casserly talks to historian John W. ...  Show more

This episode contains descriptions of graphic violence and racially offensive language. On May 31, 1921, Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Greenwood District was a thriving Black residential and business community — a city within a city. By June 1, a white mob, with the support of law enforcemen ...  Show more