On Thursday, the Historic Greenwood Chamber of Commerce in Tulsa, Oklahoma, announced the launch of a $10 million campaign to restore the Greenwood District, also known as “Black Wall Street.”
In 1921, over 600 black businesses flourished along Greenwood Avenue until riots led by white supremacists intimidated by the success of the thriving predominantly black community. In a little more than 12 hours, the entire community was burned to the ground on the night of May 31st, 1921, during the Tulsa Race Massacre that resulted in 35 city blocks being leveled and approximately 300 African Americans being murdered.
A GoFundMe page has been established to raise $1 million toward the campaign’s total. All funds will be used to restore the historic buildings at the corner of Archer Street and Greenwood Avenue, in the Greenwood District, and to provide resources to businesses within the local community.
This is the second campaign to rebuild the black commerce community this year, following a $500,000 grant that the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce received from the National Park Service. That grant was to go toward the restoration of the ten buildings that still stand of Black Wall Street.
The project is also seeking to enhance public spaces, improve mobility and walkability to and within the district, and sustain overall economic growth amongst blacks by helping to increase the number of minority-owned businesses.
Horace Sheffield, executive director of the Detroit Association of Black Organizations and national chairman of the campaign, said the goal is “to make sure that this place becomes a national destination.”
