It was one of the most brutal and violent terrorist attacks the country has ever witnessed. Over 300 people lost their lives and the attack left over 9,000 people homeless. “Black Wall Street” is what we call the town of Greenwood, Oklahoma today, but in the early 1900s this town was an all black community that had managed to create its own wealth. The economically independent, all black town of Greenwood was the home of some of the most prominent leaders, entrepreneurs and doctors.
The Tulsa Race Riots of 1921 put an end to the prosperity of this unique town when most of the businesses and homes were burned to the ground. After hundreds of KKK and other white residents from nearby towns led a racially motivated terrorist attack by ground and by air; dropping burning balls of turpentine onto the homes of prominent blacks.
Now, one of the most horrific moments in U.S. history is being turned into a series thanks to John Legend and Tika Sumter. Legend and his film company, Get Lifted will join forces with Sumter to create a series to air on WGN. Still in early development, the series “Black Wall Street” could air in 2018.
As people online constantly hash out their reasons for being “tired” of THESE TYPES of films, the importance of telling these real, American, true stories are more important now, than they have ever been. There are still people of all ages who think “Black Wall Street” is the name of the Game’s record label, and not a prosperous city filled with blacks in Oklahoma in the early 1900s. There are people who don’t realize that not only were there six black families that owned their own planes living in this town, the dollar in Greenwood circulated 36 to 100 times before it ever left the community, which is why residents became more and more wealthy. This all black community had 21 restaurants, 30 grocery stores, two movie theaters and its own hospital – all burned to the ground by the Ku Klux Klan-led, 16-hour terrorist massacre.
The importance and relevance of understanding that a town like this can truly exist, the evidence of the effects of true economic empowerment, and the need for this story to be told is why we look forward to seeing “Black Wall Street” hit screens in 2018.
Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion
