Tulsa Race Massacre 100th Anniversary: The Greenwood District

The Greenwood District of Tulsa was one of more than 50 all Black settlements in Oklahoma formed after emancipation in 1865. Since Tulsa was rigidly segregated, the neighborhood developed into it’s own nationally renown Black entrepreneurial center. Greenwood Ave, known as Black Wall Street, became a hub for Black-owned business and a cultural center for the people of the District. Unfortunately, fear and jealousy developed amongst white Tulsans over the success of Greenwood. This animosity culminated in the attack on Greenwood that would be the worst race massacre in American history.

For more about the historical Greenwood District, see:

• Black Wall Street from Greenwood Cultural Center
• Tulsa’s Historical Greenwood District from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission
• Greenwood District from the Oklahoma Historical Society
• Black Wall Street on film from the National Museum of American History
• Photographs of the Greenwood District from the National Museum of African American History and Culture