Greenwood (freedom colony)
Greenwood, also known as a historic freedom colony, is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1906 by African American landowner O.W. Gurley, it became a refuge for Black individuals escaping the oppression of the South. Over the following decades, Greenwood developed into a prosperous community, often referred to as "Black Wall Street," with a thriving economy characterized by numerous Black-owned businesses, including hotels, restaurants, and professional services. This affluence, however, attracted resentment from surrounding white communities, culminating in the devastating Tulsa race riots of 1921, during which a white mob attacked Greenwood, resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives and widespread destruction of property.
Despite efforts to rebuild, the district's vitality waned as many African Americans moved away following desegregation in the mid-20th century. Today, while revitalization efforts are underway and tourism focused on Greenwood's rich history has increased, the area continues to grapple with the lasting impacts of the violence and economic disruption that marked its past. The legacy of Greenwood remains a poignant reminder of the resilience of its community and the ongoing challenges related to racial equity in America.
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Greenwood (freedom colony)
Greenwood is a historic freedom colony in the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Established in the early nineteenth century by wealthy African American landowners, it became a haven for many black people fleeing the persecution of the South. Its economy grew fairly rapidly throughout the first two decades of the twentieth century as a variety of black-owned businesses sprang up. Greenwood became an affluent neighborhood dominated by African American-led commerce and was even referred to as the “Black Wall Street” during this period. The neighborhood’s age of prosperity came to an abrupt and tragic end in 1921 when a large group of white racists invaded and attacked the area, murdering hundreds of residents and burning down buildings. The event became known as the Tulsa race riots, and the damage it caused to the district was devastating. Those who survived the massacre later rebuilt a large portion of the Greenwood district despite the attempt by many white politicians and business owners to sabotage reconstruction. The rebuilt Greenwood remained an active hub of the Tulsa African American community until the arrival of desegregation mid-century, which emboldened African Americans to move outside of Greenwood. Since then, the district has lost much of its original liveliness, although revitalization efforts continue in an effort to boost tourism.
Background
Oklahoma was a choice destination for many African Americans at the dawn of the 1900s. The state was rife with land in need of settling, and many black people were searching for a refuge away from the cruelties of the South. Many of the African Americans who traveled to Oklahoma during this time came with Native American tribes on the Trail of Tears, a series of forced Native American relocations. Some were slaves of the tribes, others were adopted by tribes, and others were fugitive slaves who fled to the freedom of Native American territory. Many African Americans began populating the eastern region of the state and within twenty years more than fifty black townships existed in Oklahoma.
Greenwood was founded in 1906, a date that coincides with the purchase of forty acres of land in the city of Tulsa by wealthy black landowner O.W. Gurley. He named his land Greenwood after the town in Mississippi. Gurley envisioned a place where black people could have endless opportunities at a better life. He stipulated that his land could only be occupied by African Americans and only allowed the establishment of African American-owned businesses in the district. Gurley opened a boarding house for struggling blacks and soon word began to spread about the African American haven that was Greenwood. Gurley loaned money to black entrepreneurs and the site eventually attracted other wealthy African Americans, who traveled to Greenwood to open businesses such as luxury hotels, news outlets, and law offices.
African American publisher A.J. Smitherman headquartered his black newspaper the Tulsa Star in Greenwood, and the paper was hugely instrumental in helping the district develop a firm social consciousness. The newspaper published numerous informative pieces helping black people understand their legal rights and broke down legislation that related to African American rights. The fight for equal rights was a priority among Greenwood citizens who became vocal activists for the cause. Oklahoma grew to be increasingly racist after entering the Union in 1907, leading to a high degree of segregation over the next decade. Tensions between black and white communities began to rise toward the end of the 1910s, resulting in disastrous consequences.
Overview
By 1920, the Greenwood district had grown into a fully functioning autonomous community that was home to dozens of thriving businesses such as restaurants, grocery stores, luxury shops, jewelry stores, hotels, and clothing shops. It had barber shops and salons as well as its own library, post office, and school system. It featured a bustling night life that included night clubs, pool halls, and movie theaters. Its business district also had offices for doctors, lawyers, and dentists. Greenwood even had its own hospital as well as a savings and loan bank and bus and taxi services.
When word of an affluent, upscale African American community reached the racist white communities outside of Greenwood, trouble began to brew. White residents of Tulsa resented the Greenwood district for its prosperity, believing black people to be an inferior race. The success of Greenwood particularly irked the impoverished white community, who envied such prosperity. The resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan during this period began to concern many Greenwood residents. News of poll taxes and lynchings throughout Oklahoma made many fear for their rights and lives.
Tensions came to a head in 1921 following the arrest of a nineteen-year-old black shoe shiner accused of assaulting a seventeen-year-old white woman. A white mob descended on the court house in Tulsa in an attempt to lynch the accused, but a group of armed black men from Greenwood intervened. In response, a large group of armed white men headed to Tulsa and initiated a full-blown race riot. The whites destroyed many buildings in the district and murdered more than three hundred Greenwood residents. In the wake of the destruction, Greenwood received no help from the city to repair the damage. Many white businesspersons also attempted to profit from the destruction in various ways, such as offering landowners money for their now-destroyed land. Greenwood relied on donations from the NAACP, black churches, and other black communities in the state to reconstruct the neighborhood. Many of the district’s most affluent businesses permanently shut down, however.
Greenwood continued to undergo renewal and revitalization in the decades that followed, but the district was never the same. Fears of racial violence still plagued the neighborhood. With the arrival of desegregation, many blacks took the opportunity to live and do business in other parts of the country. By the 1990s, the district had lost almost all its original vitality. In response, some activists called for a public acknowledgment of the effect the riots had on the future of Oklahoma’s African American community, and some called for reparations to be paid to the descendants of Greenwood families. The district continued to struggle financially into the 2010s, and many of its attractions became oriented around tourism and the history of the race riots. In 2019, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg donated $1 million to the Greenwood Art Project to commemorate and raise awareness of the historic freedom colony of Greenwood.
Bibliography
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Keyes, Allison. “A Long-Lost Manuscript Contains a Searing Eyewitness Account of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921.” Smithsonian Magazine, 27 May 2016, www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/long-lost-manuscript-contains-searing-eyewitness-account-tulsa-race-massacre-1921-180959251/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2020.
Messer, Chris M., Thomas E. Shriver, and Alison E. Adams. “The Destruction of Black Wall Street: Tulsa’s 1921 Riot and the Eradication of Accumulated Wealth.” American Journal of Economics and Sociology, vol. 77, no. 3-4, Sept. 1998, pp. 789-819.
“1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.” Tulsa Historical Society and Museum, 2020, www.tulsahistory.org/exhibit/1921-tulsa-race-massacre/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2020.
Pickens, Josie. “Black Wall Street and the Destruction of an Institution.” Ebony, 31 May 2013, www.ebony.com/black-history/destruction-of-black-wall-street/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2020.
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