Early in the twentieth century, the black community in Tulsa- the "Greenwood District"- became a nationally renowned entrepreneurial center. Frequently referred to as "The Black Wall Street of America," the Greenwood District attracted pioneers from all over America who sought new opportunities and fresh challenges. Legal segregation forced blacks to do business among themselves. The Greenwood district prospered as dollars circulated within the black community. But fear and jealousy swelled in the greater Tulsa community. The alleged assault of a white woman by a black man triggered...
Early in the twentieth century, the black community in Tulsa- the "Greenwood District"- became a nationally renowned entrepreneurial center. Frequentl...
Beulah Land. Paradise. Shangri-la. Oklahoma seemed to be all of these in the hostile, racist, post-Civil War South. Seeking both refuge and respect, pioneers such as Edward P. McCabe championed the idea of Oklahoma as an all-Black state. And all-Black towns proliferated there. Some sixty all-Black towns, along with Tulsa's Greenwood District, bear witness to the deep creativity and incredible human spirit of the people who built them.
Beulah Land. Paradise. Shangri-la. Oklahoma seemed to be all of these in the hostile, racist, post-Civil War South. Seeking both refuge and respect, p...