by Contributing Writer Carlos Moreno B.C. Franklin’s autobiography, “My Life and an Era,” takes its readers back in time to a period of Oklahoma’s history when Black families enjoyed an abundance of prosperity, peace and freedom. His parents were Choctaw and Chickasaw and were both highly respected in the Indian Territory. Growing up, B.C. learnedContinue reading “The Victory of Greenwood: B. C. Franklin”
Tag Archives: Black Wall Street
The Victory of Greenwood: Horace “Peg Leg” Taylor
by Contributing Writer Carlos Moreno It’s no exaggeration to say that no one in Greenwood’s history is more shrouded in myth and legend than Horace “Peg Leg” Taylor. He is said to have been a World War I veteran who died while single-handedly defending Standpipe Hill armed with a machine gun. He did defend GreenwoodContinue reading “The Victory of Greenwood: Horace “Peg Leg” Taylor”
The Victory of Greenwood: Simon Berry
by Contributing Writer Carlos Moreno Greenwood produced many great entrepreneurs but perhaps none has left such a lasting legacy on Tulsa as Simon Berry. Social entrepreneurship is a current buzz word in the business community but this was the type of business that Berry conducted throughout his life. Berry’s businesses met the needs of theContinue reading “The Victory of Greenwood: Simon Berry”
The Victory of Greenwood: J. B. Stradford
by Contributing Writer Carlos Moreno On the morning of Tuesday, December 1st, 1908, J.B. Stradford and his wife Augusta boarded a train from Kansas on the Katy line to Tulsa, Oklahoma. They refused to ride in the furthest train car, reserved for Black passengers, behind the cars that carried animals. The conductor wired the trainContinue reading “The Victory of Greenwood: J. B. Stradford”
The Victory of Greenwood: Mabel B. Little
by Contributing Writer Carlos Moreno On a warm summer Tuesday evening on June 1st, 1971, dozens of parishioners and community members gathered at Mt. Zion Baptist Church to hear Mabel Little speak. W.D. Williams, son of John and Loula Williams and history teacher at Booker T. Washington High School, hosted the event and introduced Ms.Continue reading “The Victory of Greenwood: Mabel B. Little”
Making Sure We Don’t Forget: Tulsa Community Remembrance Coalition’s 10,000 Brick Campaign
by Staff Writer Britni Sharde Tulsa’s Greenwood District, also known as Historic Black Wall Street, was the most influential hub of Black entrepreneurship and free enterprise in the history of the United States. In May of 1921, this preeminent community was brutally attacked, burned, and left in ruins with more than 10,000 businesses destroyed, includingContinue reading “Making Sure We Don’t Forget: Tulsa Community Remembrance Coalition’s 10,000 Brick Campaign”
The Continual Erasure of Greenwood
by Staff Writer Lindsay Myers By now, most Tulsans are familiar with the history of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, when miles of Black-owned businesses and homes were destroyed. Black residents have worked tirelessly for nearly a century to recover the history of Black Wall Street and their labor is finally being acknowledged. Yet, asContinue reading “The Continual Erasure of Greenwood”
The Victory of Greenwood: Dr. A. C. Jackson
by Contributing Writer Carlos Moreno Every Tulsa historian would agree that among the most tragic of the deaths which occurred during the Race Massacre of 1921 was that of Dr. A.C. Jackson. The esteemed physician and surgeon was well-respected not only in Greenwood but across medical circles throughout the country. However, relatively little is knownContinue reading “The Victory of Greenwood: Dr. A. C. Jackson”
The Victory of Greenwood: John and Loula Williams
by Contributing Writer Carlos Moreno Tulsa historian Scott Ellsworth’s Death in a Promised Land opens with the story of a young Bill Williams asking his father why they relocated from Mississippi to Oklahoma. “Well,” his father answered, “I came out to the Promised Land.” For black freedmen and young black men and women moving outContinue reading “The Victory of Greenwood: John and Loula Williams”
The Victory of Greenwood: O.W. Gurley
by Contributing Writer Carlos Moreno During his life, O.W. Gurley was an educator, a church founder, a presidential appointee, a general store owner, a hotel proprietor, a landlord, a deputy police officer, and most famously, the founder of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, OK. His vision of a prosperous black community would be destroyed twiceContinue reading “The Victory of Greenwood: O.W. Gurley”
The Victory of Greenwood: A. J. Smitherman
by Contributing Writer Carlos Moreno A.J. Smitherman is best known for being the founder of The Tulsa Star—Tulsa’s first black newspaper and the first black daily newspaper in the nation, according to his obituary in the Buffalo Evening News. However, there is much more to celebrate about Smitherman’s life and work. Smitherman was an accomplishedContinue reading “The Victory of Greenwood: A. J. Smitherman”
Sneakers, Culture, Life: Silhouette boutique owner hopes to bring sneaker culture to the Tulsa masses
by Executive Editor Timantha Norman Sneakers have undergone a very interesting cultural trajectory in our modern history. From purely practical purposes when they first came into existence in the early part of the 20th century, then becoming a staple of the burgeoning hip-hop subculture of the 1980s, to the forefront of the basketball landscape ofContinue reading “Sneakers, Culture, Life: Silhouette boutique owner hopes to bring sneaker culture to the Tulsa masses”
Extractions, exploitation, destruction: How state-sanctioned disenfranchisement stunted Black wealth acquisition (Part 1 of 3)
by Contributing Writer Mana Tahaie Earlier this year, Tulsa Development Authority (TDA) once again came under scrutiny by Tulsans concerned about the displacement of Black North Tulsa residents. In March, City Councilor Vanessa Hall Harper warned residents of District 1 that a proposed amendment of the Greenwood/Unity Heritage Neighborhoods sector plan subjected approximately 2,000 addressesContinue reading “Extractions, exploitation, destruction: How state-sanctioned disenfranchisement stunted Black wealth acquisition (Part 1 of 3)”
