TULSA OKLAHOMA

TULSA OKLAHOMA SET THEBLUEPRINT ON HOW IT CAN BE DONE. OUR INDEPENDENTS AS A PEOPLE OUR TRUE OWNERSHIP OF OUR COMMUNITY.

In fact, the people of Tulsa Oklahoma which was 100% black populated, bonded together in everything they did.  They actually did what African Americans/black people have been marching, singing and protesting about here in the United States for years and are still protesting and marching about to this day. Had the people of Tulsa Oklahoma (prior to moving to Tulsa) been marching and protesting back then, it is very likely that they still would be protesting, marching, and even voting about those same issues which are freedom, justice, and equality. And they would be marching right alongside of us today. And just like the black man and woman today, they would question why is it that before the paint can dry on one protest sign, we’re already painting (metaphorically) a new protest sign because of another injustice done at the hands of a white officer or white civilian to a black man, woman or child.

Well, the people of Tulsa Oklahoma did things differently.  They spent their time building a community of their own by purchasing land.

Now, to tell you this story, I will take you back, all the way back to the year 1906 when a wealthy African American man/a black man from Arkansas by the name of O.W. Gurley moved to Tulsa Oklahoma and purchased over 40 acres of land and he made sure that the land was only sold to other African Americans.  Mr. Gurley was a young entrepreneur and had just resigned from a presidential appointment under President Glover Cleveland in order to launch out on his own.

Mr. Gurley became a multimillionaire and he was the owner of several businesses in Tulsa including what was coined, his prize possession which was a hotel.  O.W. Gurley even provided opportunity for those who migrated from the terribly harsh oppression of Mississippi.

Mr. J.B. Stradford was another important contributor to the success of Black Wall Street.  Mr. Stradford was an African American man who graduated from Indiana University with a law degree and had moved to Greenwood to purchase various land vacancies in the area.  After purchasing these vacant spaces, he would then sell them to African American residents for re-development so that these empty spaces could be transformed into residential houses and lucrative businesses.

All and all, as a result there were over 600 businesses.  And on Black Wall Street there were attorneys, dentists, real estate agents, pilots, architects, musicians, singers, entrepreneurs, doctors, pharmacists, drycleaners, hairdressers, plumbers, professors and teachers, and many other professions who offered their services in the neighborhood.

Okay readers, lean in for this one. A dollar circulated 36 to 100 times and it remained in the Greenwood district for almost a year before leaving. This kind of circulation has never been matched by any other community.  There are other communities where a dollar would stay about 30 days or 40 days before leaving but there has never been a community who can even compare with the circulation of a dollar as in the Greenwood district.

If you are thinking that Tulsa Oklahoma was the only financially powerful black community, I am here to tell you that there were other black prominent business districts located in other states such as Durham, North Carolina, Rosewood, Florida, and Richmond Virginia. The people of Greenwood who were less than 60 years removed from slavery achieved a level of economic success and self-determination that have never existed before in the United States. 

According to public resources.

The state of Oklahoma had only two airports, still, six black families owned their own private planes in the district of Black Wall Street. 

The average income in the area exceeded what the minimum wage is today.  With its own taxi services and bus services, Black Wall Street was completely self contained. In fact, white people repeatedly borrowed from black owned banks even during the great depression. 

The schools were superior to those of the white areas.  There were standards of morals and respect that existed and were taught to the students at a young age.  When the average student went to school in Black Wall Street, he wore a suite and tie. Heard enough?  Hold on, there’s more.  Many of the homes had indoor plumbing before those in the white areas did. 

Yes, we can do this, we can build and create and own, again.