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Coordinates: 36.16166°N 95.98660°W. Greenwood is a historic freedom colony in Tulsa, Oklahoma. As one of the most prominent concentrations of African-American businesses in the United States during the early 20th century, it was popularly known as America's "Black Wall Street".
- Overview
- HISTORY Vault: The Night Tulsa Burned
Historic images of Tulsa, Oklahoma's Greenwood district reveal how the 1921 mob attack devastated the nation's Black cultural and economic mecca.
At the turn of the 20th century, African Americans founded and developed the Greenwood district in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Built on what had formerly been Indian Territory, the community grew and flourished as a Black economic and cultural mecca—until May 31, 1921.
That's when a white mob began a rampage through some 35 square blocks, decimating the community known proudly as "Black Wall Street." Armed rioters, many deputized by local police, looted and burned down businesses, homes, schools, churches, a hospital, hotel, public library, newspaper offices and more. While the official death toll of the Tulsa race massacre was 36, historians estimate it may have been as high as 300. As many as 10,000 people were left homeless.
The incident stands as one most horrific acts of racial violence, and domestic terrorism, ever committed on American soil.
More to History: Tulsa Race Massacre
In May 2021, 100 years after the massacre, 107-year-old Viola Fletcher testified before Congress: “On May 31, of ‘21, I went to bed in my family’s home in Greenwood," she recounted. “The neighborhood I fell asleep in that night was rich, not just in terms of wealth, but in culture…and heritage. My family had a beautiful home. We had great neighbors. I had friends to play with. I felt safe. I had everything a child could need. I had a bright future.”
By 1921, Tulsa’s Greenwood area was one of America's most affluent all-Black communities. But on June 1, in what became known as the Tulsa Race Massacre, white mobs set it on fire, destroying homes and businesses and leaving dozens dead.
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- Missy Sullivan
Oct 21, 2024 · Black Wall Street was a prosperous neighborhood (officially named Greenwood) in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where African Americans had created a flourishing and self-sufficient business district in the early 20th century. The area was destroyed in the Tulsa race massacre of 1921.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Jun 1, 2021 · One hundred years ago, a mob burned 35 square blocks of a Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma to the ground. Sparked by a false accusation and fueled by hatred, racism, and jealousy, the destruction of Greenwood was the worst civil disturbance since the Civil War. Its losses are felt to this day.
Mar 8, 2018 · During the Tulsa Race Massacre, which occurred over 18 hours from May 31 to June 1, 1921, a white mob attacked residents, homes and businesses in the predominantly Black Greenwood neighborhood...
May 24, 2021 · In 1921, a white mob attacked the Greenwood district of Tulsa, killing hundreds of Black people and destroying the neighborhood. Justice has never been served. Can it still be today?
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Jun 2, 2021 · A few short years after the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, Greenwood’s homes and businesses came back. This photograph shows a parade held in the Oklahoma neighborhood during the 1930s or '40s.
