Can you imagine a black community when our black ancestors' dollar circulated 19 times before it left that community. Those black dollars was the enrichers of that black community. The fact of the matter is that a unified circle of prosperity encased that community. That's how it was prior to May 31, 1921, on Tulsa, Oklahoma's north side in the black town of Greenwood, Oklahoma. This was the location of Black America's Famous Wall Street. You know that pettiness, and jealousy from the white communities was the common denominator for those who saw this uplifting economic community of black folks. Now, 97 years later on May 31, 2019, that same black dollar circulated 19 times in Greenwood, Oklahoma now circulates an average of 6 hours, 360 minutes, or 21, 600 seconds in our black communities.
However, on May 31, 1921, all of that black progressive economic power was crushed like a grape because white racism, ignorance, and white terror inflicted on that remarkable community. In a period of time when Jim Crow was flourishing in almost every region of this nation. Greenwood, Oklahoma not only defied the odds and was beating those odds easily until it wasn't. Because within a 24-hour period the entire Greenwood black community was erased from maps of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hundreds of blacks were murdered. Hundreds more were injured and literally, thousands were left without homes or businesses. All of this because of white vengeful bigotry, white mob violence, and utter white racial hatred.
So today, click on this link as I read aloud a newspaper article written on the day after the Greenwood Community was erased from the face of the earth, 99 years ago today. I wonder if we can or will fully comprehend the level of destruction that was perpetrated on Black America on May 31, 1921. You see if Greenwood, Oklahoma was allowed to prosper it could've been the model of replication for black communities all across this nation. That is why we must learn our history and understand the magnitude of violence our ancestors faced even after slavery ended. Our black communities can no longer run away from our history, no matter how terrible the results. We must run towards those experiences, learn from them, and fully comprehend how to interpret our ancestors' experiences can better our own experiences.
