1 00:00:01,943 --> 00:00:04,143 [narrator] ...on The Legacy of Black Wall Street. 2 00:00:04,176 --> 00:00:06,043 [Karlos] In Tulsa in 1910, 3 00:00:06,076 --> 00:00:08,010 there's less than 10,000 people. 4 00:00:08,043 --> 00:00:11,010 Ten years later, there's a hundred thousand people. 5 00:00:11,043 --> 00:00:14,210 And 10,000 of those people are Black people. 6 00:00:14,243 --> 00:00:17,010 They make a way for themselves in Tulsa 7 00:00:17,043 --> 00:00:19,076 and build a community that becomes 8 00:00:19,110 --> 00:00:20,976 known as Black Wall Street. 9 00:00:21,010 --> 00:00:22,643 You had numerous restaurants, 10 00:00:22,676 --> 00:00:25,143 movie theaters, law offices, 11 00:00:25,176 --> 00:00:28,343 all bused up in this one little area. 12 00:00:28,376 --> 00:00:30,676 And it was known, if you want to prosper, 13 00:00:30,710 --> 00:00:33,176 come to Greenwood. 14 00:00:33,210 --> 00:00:36,143 [Raven] They were beginning to show 15 00:00:36,176 --> 00:00:38,976 the White leaders that they did have power 16 00:00:39,010 --> 00:00:40,143 and that was a threat. 17 00:00:40,176 --> 00:00:41,510 So the way to eliminate 18 00:00:41,543 --> 00:00:43,176 the Black threat 19 00:00:43,210 --> 00:00:45,143 was to get rid of the Black town. 20 00:00:45,176 --> 00:00:46,876 [Victor] What was said by the police was, 21 00:00:46,910 --> 00:00:48,410 "Get a gun, get busy, 22 00:00:48,443 --> 00:00:50,076 and get a nigger." 23 00:00:51,743 --> 00:00:54,310 The trajectory could have been different, 24 00:00:54,343 --> 00:00:57,576 and the promises of the past 25 00:00:57,610 --> 00:01:02,110 can become the social agenda of the future. 26 00:01:02,143 --> 00:01:05,142 [upbeat music playing] 27 00:01:16,810 --> 00:01:19,943 [dramatic music playing] 28 00:01:19,976 --> 00:01:21,743 [Drusilla] The Negro is sleeping 29 00:01:21,776 --> 00:01:25,576 over a volcano today. 30 00:01:25,610 --> 00:01:28,643 He has done enough running. 31 00:01:28,676 --> 00:01:32,409 This is not a White man's country. 32 00:01:32,443 --> 00:01:36,176 It is as much ours by right of toil. 33 00:01:44,810 --> 00:01:47,476 [Regina] The shooting began that night 34 00:01:47,510 --> 00:01:50,310 down at the courthouse and people actually thought 35 00:01:50,343 --> 00:01:54,143 that it might settle and that was it. 36 00:01:54,176 --> 00:01:57,643 [Raven] The White mob mobilized with the government. 37 00:01:57,676 --> 00:02:01,143 They met at the sheriff's offices 38 00:02:01,176 --> 00:02:04,876 and deputized thousands of armed men 39 00:02:04,910 --> 00:02:08,010 to obliterate the entire district. 40 00:02:08,110 --> 00:02:09,643 The police commissioner would say 41 00:02:09,676 --> 00:02:11,176 he didn't even know the names of everyone 42 00:02:11,210 --> 00:02:13,543 that was deputized, so they were truly random 43 00:02:13,576 --> 00:02:15,876 White men in Tulsa being given 44 00:02:15,910 --> 00:02:17,310 the power of law enforcement. 45 00:02:17,343 --> 00:02:19,476 [whistle blows] 46 00:02:19,509 --> 00:02:22,143 They'd blow a whistle at about 5:00 the next morning, 47 00:02:22,176 --> 00:02:25,543 that's when they went all-out attack. 48 00:02:25,576 --> 00:02:28,343 It was war on the Greenwood community. 49 00:02:28,376 --> 00:02:31,376 [people clamoring] 50 00:02:35,476 --> 00:02:38,176 [Eldoris] And I was awakened by my mother, 51 00:02:38,210 --> 00:02:39,976 I was real frightened. 52 00:02:40,009 --> 00:02:43,210 I just got up and was real afraid. 53 00:02:43,243 --> 00:02:46,543 And she says, "We have to go out. Get out." 54 00:02:46,576 --> 00:02:49,843 I say... She says the White people 55 00:02:49,876 --> 00:02:51,876 are killing the colored people. 56 00:02:54,243 --> 00:02:56,476 Over the track off [indistinct] 57 00:02:56,509 --> 00:02:58,576 was a small chicken coop. 58 00:03:01,976 --> 00:03:05,410 The bullets were just raining down over us. 59 00:03:05,443 --> 00:03:08,710 Airplanes was up and I could see them, 60 00:03:08,743 --> 00:03:10,210 and I heard them, 61 00:03:10,243 --> 00:03:11,743 and I was still trying... 62 00:03:11,776 --> 00:03:14,410 I pull away from my parents and ran 63 00:03:14,443 --> 00:03:17,243 into this chicken coop with all the other people. 64 00:03:17,276 --> 00:03:20,343 And I got into the corner of that, 65 00:03:20,376 --> 00:03:23,110 just scared as I could be. 66 00:03:25,243 --> 00:03:28,243 [Raven] My great uncle Toussaint 67 00:03:28,276 --> 00:03:31,676 saw White men coming down the street. 68 00:03:31,710 --> 00:03:35,910 And he told his mother they're coming. 69 00:03:35,943 --> 00:03:38,843 Her husband wasn't there to protect them. 70 00:03:38,876 --> 00:03:42,743 He was off fighting to protect the community. 71 00:03:42,776 --> 00:03:47,576 So the next best bet for them was to hide. 72 00:03:47,610 --> 00:03:50,210 Just in the nick of time they made it 73 00:03:50,243 --> 00:03:52,776 and my great aunt, she was eight at the time 74 00:03:52,810 --> 00:03:55,509 she describes how her mother got her dressed 75 00:03:55,543 --> 00:03:58,743 and ushered them all into the basement. 76 00:03:58,776 --> 00:04:02,410 They had to be absolutely silent 77 00:04:02,443 --> 00:04:04,843 and muzzle my grandmother. 78 00:04:04,876 --> 00:04:07,576 They had to control her screams 79 00:04:07,610 --> 00:04:09,910 and make sure they weren't discovered. 80 00:04:09,943 --> 00:04:11,910 And you can just imagine 81 00:04:11,943 --> 00:04:15,176 just how frightening that would be 82 00:04:15,210 --> 00:04:18,442 to hear men come into your house 83 00:04:18,476 --> 00:04:22,510 with the intent to kill you and your children, 84 00:04:22,543 --> 00:04:25,276 trying to pray to God 85 00:04:25,310 --> 00:04:28,176 to protect you. 86 00:04:28,210 --> 00:04:31,276 But then to hear them 87 00:04:31,310 --> 00:04:33,476 ransacking through your belongings, 88 00:04:33,510 --> 00:04:36,476 playing a phonograph of a song, 89 00:04:36,510 --> 00:04:40,410 and then seeing that coal oil 90 00:04:40,443 --> 00:04:44,510 drip down from the top down to the basement 91 00:04:44,543 --> 00:04:47,110 so that they could set the house on fire. 92 00:04:49,510 --> 00:04:51,310 Only by the grace of God 93 00:04:51,343 --> 00:04:54,276 did my family escape that flaming house. 94 00:04:54,310 --> 00:04:57,843 And only by the grace of God 95 00:04:57,875 --> 00:05:01,176 am I here to describe it right now. 96 00:05:03,843 --> 00:05:05,543 [Michelle] Our survivors have spoken 97 00:05:05,576 --> 00:05:08,310 of machine guns that were used 98 00:05:08,343 --> 00:05:11,110 and bombs being dropped from the air. 99 00:05:13,776 --> 00:05:16,543 There is an oil company here in Oklahoma 100 00:05:16,576 --> 00:05:19,176 that allowed riders to use at least one of their planes. 101 00:05:24,176 --> 00:05:27,176 [Regina] BC Franklin, Buck Colbert Franklin, 102 00:05:27,210 --> 00:05:28,875 he was an attorney. 103 00:05:28,910 --> 00:05:32,375 He was an eyewitness to the planes 104 00:05:32,410 --> 00:05:34,243 that were flying overhead. 105 00:05:34,276 --> 00:05:37,243 And he watched them drop turpentine balls 106 00:05:37,276 --> 00:05:39,343 on top of the buildings, 107 00:05:39,375 --> 00:05:40,875 and the buildings would begin to burn 108 00:05:40,910 --> 00:05:43,543 from the top down. 109 00:05:43,576 --> 00:05:46,743 [Jerica] To hear of family members 110 00:05:46,776 --> 00:05:49,143 being shot dead in the middle of the street 111 00:05:49,176 --> 00:05:50,410 for no reason, 112 00:05:50,443 --> 00:05:53,243 how do you process that? 113 00:05:53,276 --> 00:05:56,343 [woman] This was clearly not about Dick Rowland. 114 00:05:56,375 --> 00:05:59,410 This was a deliberate and calculated 115 00:05:59,443 --> 00:06:01,410 ground and air attack 116 00:06:01,443 --> 00:06:04,476 to destroy the Greenwood community. 117 00:06:04,510 --> 00:06:07,243 [Michelle] Our community was outnumbered 118 00:06:07,276 --> 00:06:09,110 and outgunned. 119 00:06:09,110 --> 00:06:11,476 The sheriff's department was joined 120 00:06:11,510 --> 00:06:13,576 by thousands of White rioters 121 00:06:13,610 --> 00:06:16,810 who eventually invaded and killed 122 00:06:16,843 --> 00:06:20,176 innocent men, women, and children. 123 00:06:22,110 --> 00:06:24,443 [Raven] Through the streets we all were driven 124 00:06:24,476 --> 00:06:27,276 at the point of sword or gun. 125 00:06:27,310 --> 00:06:31,375 Women, men, and little children, 126 00:06:31,410 --> 00:06:34,810 scarcely clothing on their backs. 127 00:06:36,976 --> 00:06:39,476 [Michelle] They began to incarcerate 128 00:06:39,510 --> 00:06:41,610 every single African-American person 129 00:06:41,643 --> 00:06:43,375 in the Greenwood district. 130 00:06:43,410 --> 00:06:45,310 The entire population of the Greenwood community 131 00:06:45,343 --> 00:06:48,375 was between 10,000 and 12,000 men, women, and children. 132 00:06:48,410 --> 00:06:51,410 6,000 people were arrested 133 00:06:51,443 --> 00:06:52,976 and detained at one of three 134 00:06:53,010 --> 00:06:55,243 internment centers in the City of Tulsa. 135 00:06:55,276 --> 00:06:58,276 It left their homes and businesses defenseless 136 00:06:58,310 --> 00:06:59,910 so that White rioters could go in 137 00:06:59,943 --> 00:07:02,543 and take whatever valuables they wanted 138 00:07:02,576 --> 00:07:06,476 and then set everything on fire. 139 00:07:06,510 --> 00:07:09,976 By the following day, more than 1,000 homes 140 00:07:10,010 --> 00:07:11,476 had been burned to the ground. 141 00:07:11,510 --> 00:07:13,376 More than 300 Black-owned businesses 142 00:07:13,410 --> 00:07:15,510 completely destroyed. 143 00:07:15,543 --> 00:07:18,310 Several thousand people unaccounted for 144 00:07:18,343 --> 00:07:22,976 and we believe at least 300 people murdered. 145 00:07:23,010 --> 00:07:26,976 [Karlos] What occurred in Tulsa 146 00:07:27,010 --> 00:07:30,010 was the deadliest, 147 00:07:30,110 --> 00:07:32,510 most destructive attack 148 00:07:32,543 --> 00:07:35,143 on a Black community in American history. 149 00:07:35,176 --> 00:07:37,210 Black Wall Street 150 00:07:37,243 --> 00:07:41,243 is completely destroyed. 151 00:07:43,810 --> 00:07:45,110 [Regina] The Goodwin building 152 00:07:45,110 --> 00:07:46,776 burned to the ground. 153 00:07:46,810 --> 00:07:49,476 [Karlos] The Stratford Hotel, the Gurley Hotel, 154 00:07:49,510 --> 00:07:53,310 and the Dreamland Theatre burned to the ground. 155 00:07:53,343 --> 00:07:54,943 [Gloria] My main thought when I see 156 00:07:54,976 --> 00:07:56,710 all those photographs and the devastation 157 00:07:56,743 --> 00:07:58,810 that everyone shows is, 158 00:07:58,843 --> 00:08:01,310 how did they ever make it out of there? 159 00:08:04,910 --> 00:08:06,743 It is horrendous 160 00:08:06,776 --> 00:08:10,576 the way that African-American residents were murdered 161 00:08:10,610 --> 00:08:13,776 and their bodies left in the street. 162 00:08:19,110 --> 00:08:20,610 The entire Greenwood community 163 00:08:20,643 --> 00:08:22,543 was to live out of tents 164 00:08:22,576 --> 00:08:26,276 that had been distributed by the American Red Cross. 165 00:08:28,910 --> 00:08:31,710 And it was the first time that they had ever responded 166 00:08:31,743 --> 00:08:34,210 to an incident that was not caused 167 00:08:34,243 --> 00:08:36,810 by a natural disaster. 168 00:08:42,110 --> 00:08:46,110 They were forced to wear green identification badges. 169 00:08:46,110 --> 00:08:50,010 But the bottom states who was responsible for them, 170 00:08:50,110 --> 00:08:52,576 it's a badge that basically gave them 171 00:08:52,610 --> 00:08:54,543 permission to be in public, 172 00:08:54,576 --> 00:08:56,276 to be on the streets. 173 00:09:06,376 --> 00:09:07,910 [Venita] People need to understand 174 00:09:07,943 --> 00:09:10,143 that there was a highly traumatic event, 175 00:09:10,176 --> 00:09:13,610 one of the worst incidents of racial violence, 176 00:09:13,643 --> 00:09:16,543 maybe the worst in the history of our country. 177 00:09:18,643 --> 00:09:21,243 And that we today 178 00:09:21,276 --> 00:09:23,243 are a product of that. 179 00:09:23,276 --> 00:09:25,810 [woman] We have nothing to lose but our chance. 180 00:09:25,843 --> 00:09:27,843 -What do we want? -[crowd] Justice! 181 00:09:27,876 --> 00:09:29,876 -[woman] Where do we want it? -[crowd] Now! 182 00:09:35,110 --> 00:09:36,543 [Victor] This is a quote from AJ Smitherman 183 00:09:36,576 --> 00:09:38,110 in The Tulsa Star. 184 00:09:38,110 --> 00:09:39,843 Mob law is dangerous and will undermine 185 00:09:39,876 --> 00:09:42,210 the foundations of any government that permits it. 186 00:09:42,243 --> 00:09:44,176 Unless this monster is subdued in this country, 187 00:09:44,210 --> 00:09:46,476 serious trouble is sure to follow. 188 00:09:46,510 --> 00:09:49,510 His words still ring out true today. 189 00:09:52,210 --> 00:09:54,376 Watching those people storm the capitol 190 00:09:54,410 --> 00:09:56,310 reminded me of the massacre itself 191 00:09:56,343 --> 00:09:58,510 and this notion that what they were doing 192 00:09:58,543 --> 00:10:01,343 was not going to be punished. 193 00:10:01,376 --> 00:10:03,310 They really felt like they were in control 194 00:10:03,343 --> 00:10:05,310 of that situation in the same way that the mob 195 00:10:05,343 --> 00:10:07,676 in Tulsa thought they were in control of Greenwood. 196 00:10:10,376 --> 00:10:13,376 [dramatic music playing] 197 00:10:20,543 --> 00:10:23,576 [Jabraan] First thing I think about is the stress, 198 00:10:23,610 --> 00:10:26,076 the anxiety, the depression, 199 00:10:26,110 --> 00:10:29,310 that takes a toll mentally and physically. 200 00:10:29,343 --> 00:10:31,810 And then the fact that they might not know 201 00:10:31,843 --> 00:10:33,643 where their next meal is gonna come from, 202 00:10:33,676 --> 00:10:35,076 they might not know where they're gonna lie 203 00:10:35,110 --> 00:10:37,743 their head down that night, 204 00:10:37,776 --> 00:10:41,043 let alone finding support and food for the family 205 00:10:41,076 --> 00:10:43,076 that they're responsible for. 206 00:10:45,043 --> 00:10:47,310 Months later when African-Americans 207 00:10:47,343 --> 00:10:49,376 were released from those internment sites, 208 00:10:49,410 --> 00:10:52,876 they returned to what remained 209 00:10:52,910 --> 00:10:54,876 which was nothing. 210 00:10:54,910 --> 00:10:57,943 [dramatic music playing] 211 00:11:01,943 --> 00:11:05,643 [Karlos] 10,000 people were made homeless. 212 00:11:08,143 --> 00:11:12,110 $26 million in Black wealth 213 00:11:12,143 --> 00:11:16,110 went up in flames in 1921. 214 00:11:16,143 --> 00:11:17,776 [Onikah] We have to figure out 215 00:11:17,810 --> 00:11:20,210 how to calculate that loss. 216 00:11:20,243 --> 00:11:22,943 One of the things that isn't considered 217 00:11:22,976 --> 00:11:25,910 is the compound benefit of homeownership 218 00:11:25,943 --> 00:11:28,776 or compound benefit of owning a business 219 00:11:28,810 --> 00:11:31,110 over generations. 220 00:11:31,143 --> 00:11:33,276 Recent economic analysis 221 00:11:33,310 --> 00:11:35,976 of the massacre suggests 222 00:11:36,010 --> 00:11:39,376 dampened innovation among Black people, 223 00:11:39,410 --> 00:11:42,110 lowered rates of Black patenting, 224 00:11:42,110 --> 00:11:44,110 multi-generational effects 225 00:11:44,110 --> 00:11:47,110 of income loss and status loss. 226 00:11:47,110 --> 00:11:50,410 You see declines in homeownership, 227 00:11:50,443 --> 00:11:52,443 occupational downgrading, 228 00:11:52,476 --> 00:11:55,276 impacts on educational attainment, 229 00:11:55,310 --> 00:12:00,310 and you see a big increase in labor force participation. 230 00:12:00,343 --> 00:12:02,310 There's this ripple effect 231 00:12:02,343 --> 00:12:05,176 and it echoed and resonated. 232 00:12:05,210 --> 00:12:08,810 [dramatic music playing] 233 00:12:08,843 --> 00:12:11,643 [Raven] They wanted the Blacks in Greenwood 234 00:12:11,676 --> 00:12:13,110 to lose everything 235 00:12:13,110 --> 00:12:15,376 including their finest citizens 236 00:12:15,410 --> 00:12:16,976 and they were very successful. 237 00:12:17,010 --> 00:12:19,876 My family lost The Tulsa Star 238 00:12:19,910 --> 00:12:22,710 which was destroyed and burned to the ground. 239 00:12:22,743 --> 00:12:24,476 They had other property, 240 00:12:24,510 --> 00:12:28,176 more than just a house or a press plant. 241 00:12:28,210 --> 00:12:29,976 They lost everything. 242 00:12:31,243 --> 00:12:33,343 They drove out JB Stratford, 243 00:12:33,376 --> 00:12:35,776 they drove out my great grandfather, 244 00:12:35,810 --> 00:12:39,676 AJ Smitherman, OW Gurley eventually left, 245 00:12:39,710 --> 00:12:43,010 and they just shot AC Jackson cold-blooded. 246 00:12:45,110 --> 00:12:47,276 [Jabraan] It is so hard to imagine the success 247 00:12:47,310 --> 00:12:51,276 that Dr. AC Jackson had in his time. 248 00:12:51,310 --> 00:12:53,810 The Greenwood community felt upset 249 00:12:53,843 --> 00:12:56,210 and concerned and scared 250 00:12:56,243 --> 00:12:58,543 to know that someone who had reached 251 00:12:58,576 --> 00:13:00,110 the epitome of success 252 00:13:00,110 --> 00:13:02,410 can just be gunned down in the streets. 253 00:13:04,643 --> 00:13:07,610 [Karlos] The photos that White Tulsans took 254 00:13:07,643 --> 00:13:09,443 in 1921 255 00:13:09,476 --> 00:13:12,776 were meant to tell a story of conquest. 256 00:13:14,610 --> 00:13:17,276 We successfully put down 257 00:13:17,310 --> 00:13:18,643 a Negro rebellion. 258 00:13:22,110 --> 00:13:25,110 If you look at the postcards 259 00:13:25,143 --> 00:13:27,110 and the inscriptions, 260 00:13:27,143 --> 00:13:28,943 many of them are celebratory. 261 00:13:31,610 --> 00:13:34,110 It was the opinion 262 00:13:34,143 --> 00:13:36,343 by many Whites in Tulsa 263 00:13:36,376 --> 00:13:40,343 that Blacks have brought this upon themselves, 264 00:13:40,376 --> 00:13:43,776 that this was in some way our fault. 265 00:13:43,810 --> 00:13:47,210 [Raven] People who interpret it as such 266 00:13:47,243 --> 00:13:50,743 were the ones who were trying to protect themselves 267 00:13:50,776 --> 00:13:52,410 and so they put the finger 268 00:13:52,443 --> 00:13:55,776 on my great grandfather, AJ Smitherman, 269 00:13:55,810 --> 00:13:58,710 and 55 others. 270 00:13:58,743 --> 00:14:01,110 [Michelle] JB Stratford was one of those 271 00:14:01,110 --> 00:14:04,110 who fled Tulsa who went to Chicago 272 00:14:04,143 --> 00:14:05,776 where he had family. 273 00:14:05,810 --> 00:14:08,476 He was charged with inciting a riot. 274 00:14:08,510 --> 00:14:12,576 [Raven] AJ Smitherman reached out to the NAACP. 275 00:14:12,610 --> 00:14:16,610 He had to figure out what his next moves would be. 276 00:14:16,643 --> 00:14:19,976 So they're advise was for him to flee 277 00:14:20,010 --> 00:14:22,110 and go to Canada. 278 00:14:22,110 --> 00:14:24,976 He knew he would never face a fair trial 279 00:14:25,010 --> 00:14:27,643 had he come back to Tulsa 280 00:14:27,676 --> 00:14:29,643 and that he would most likely be 281 00:14:29,676 --> 00:14:33,576 the next potential victim of a lynching. 282 00:14:33,610 --> 00:14:35,843 The City of Tulsa is at fault 283 00:14:35,876 --> 00:14:39,410 for failing to protect its citizens. 284 00:14:39,443 --> 00:14:41,810 The Black community had every right 285 00:14:41,843 --> 00:14:46,243 to protect Dick Rowland from being lynched. 286 00:14:46,276 --> 00:14:48,310 They risked their lives. 287 00:14:48,343 --> 00:14:52,210 That speaks to an unbelievable courage. 288 00:14:55,210 --> 00:14:57,110 [Onikah] What is most atrocious about 289 00:14:57,143 --> 00:14:58,976 the destruction of Black Wall Street 290 00:14:59,010 --> 00:15:02,910 was the concerted efforts to prevent the rebuilding 291 00:15:02,943 --> 00:15:05,543 of Black Wall Street. 292 00:15:05,576 --> 00:15:07,843 Putting in a place policies 293 00:15:07,876 --> 00:15:11,410 that were supposed to prevent redevelopment. 294 00:15:11,443 --> 00:15:13,976 [Michelle] The ordinances that the City of Tulsa passed 295 00:15:14,010 --> 00:15:16,543 said that, if Blacks were gonna rebuild, 296 00:15:16,576 --> 00:15:18,976 they had to rebuild 297 00:15:19,010 --> 00:15:21,876 using fire retardant materials. 298 00:15:21,910 --> 00:15:24,510 And yet building supply companies here 299 00:15:24,543 --> 00:15:27,376 often refused to sell those materials 300 00:15:27,410 --> 00:15:30,476 to African-Americans. 301 00:15:30,510 --> 00:15:32,376 It was called a riot 302 00:15:32,410 --> 00:15:35,743 and that served to hold the narrative 303 00:15:35,776 --> 00:15:39,743 of the White folks who perpetrated the violence. 304 00:15:39,776 --> 00:15:42,543 It also served to ensure that Black folks 305 00:15:42,576 --> 00:15:45,243 couldn't actually access their insurance. 306 00:15:45,276 --> 00:15:47,676 [Michelle] Nearly $2 million in insurance claims 307 00:15:47,710 --> 00:15:51,643 were filed by homeowners and business owners. 308 00:15:51,676 --> 00:15:53,910 [Karlos] And not a single penny 309 00:15:53,943 --> 00:15:56,876 has ever been repatriated 310 00:15:56,910 --> 00:15:58,843 to the Black survivors 311 00:15:58,876 --> 00:16:00,576 and descendants of those survivors 312 00:16:00,610 --> 00:16:02,476 who lost it. 313 00:16:02,510 --> 00:16:05,110 [Regina] My grandmother was fierce enough 314 00:16:05,110 --> 00:16:06,410 to go into the courtrooms 315 00:16:06,443 --> 00:16:09,810 after Black folks have been murdered. 316 00:16:09,843 --> 00:16:11,810 And she wanted to make claims, 317 00:16:11,843 --> 00:16:14,543 wants insurance companies to pay. 318 00:16:14,576 --> 00:16:17,243 The suits were thrown at a court outright. 319 00:16:17,276 --> 00:16:19,576 I just love that she had the audacity 320 00:16:19,610 --> 00:16:21,976 to go and say, "You took something 321 00:16:22,010 --> 00:16:25,976 that we worked for, that belonged to us." 322 00:16:26,010 --> 00:16:28,576 The insurance companies paid out the pawnshops 323 00:16:28,610 --> 00:16:31,610 where the guns were stolen to arm vigilantes, 324 00:16:31,643 --> 00:16:35,310 those are the folks that actually got reimbursed. 325 00:16:35,343 --> 00:16:37,310 [Karlos] The Tulsa Race Massacre 326 00:16:37,343 --> 00:16:40,376 is not just about death and destruction, 327 00:16:40,410 --> 00:16:44,810 it's about the liquidation of Black wealth 328 00:16:44,843 --> 00:16:46,943 and the transfer of their wealth 329 00:16:46,976 --> 00:16:48,910 to White people. 330 00:16:48,943 --> 00:16:52,910 White people not only burned down Black Wall Street, 331 00:16:52,943 --> 00:16:54,610 they looted it as well. 332 00:16:54,643 --> 00:16:57,776 They carried away Black wealth. 333 00:16:57,810 --> 00:17:00,110 [Stefan] They did everything 334 00:17:00,143 --> 00:17:02,476 that this country asked them to do. 335 00:17:02,510 --> 00:17:05,176 And they were punished for it. 336 00:17:05,209 --> 00:17:07,776 Respectability can't save you, 337 00:17:07,810 --> 00:17:09,642 no matter how good you do, 338 00:17:09,676 --> 00:17:13,376 all it takes is racist behavior 339 00:17:13,410 --> 00:17:16,110 to cut the legs out from all of this progress. 340 00:17:16,142 --> 00:17:19,142 [people clamoring] 341 00:17:25,142 --> 00:17:26,543 [Onikah] Even though Black Wall Street 342 00:17:26,575 --> 00:17:27,843 was destroyed, 343 00:17:27,876 --> 00:17:30,110 we have resilience, 344 00:17:30,143 --> 00:17:34,110 Greenwood lived again. 345 00:17:34,110 --> 00:17:38,510 BC Franklin and his team of lawyers 346 00:17:38,543 --> 00:17:42,576 refused to accept the City of Tulsa's 347 00:17:42,610 --> 00:17:44,376 rezoning ordinance that would have made it 348 00:17:44,410 --> 00:17:46,276 prohibitively expensive 349 00:17:46,310 --> 00:17:48,910 for Black residents to rebuild. 350 00:17:48,943 --> 00:17:51,110 They fought it, they won, 351 00:17:51,110 --> 00:17:53,276 and that paved the way for the community 352 00:17:53,310 --> 00:17:55,510 to be rebuilt. 353 00:17:55,543 --> 00:17:57,343 [Regina] My great grandmother, 354 00:17:57,376 --> 00:18:00,143 my great grandfather said, "We're gonna rebuild." 355 00:18:00,176 --> 00:18:02,943 Well, some folks never came back, 356 00:18:02,976 --> 00:18:05,176 and can you blame them? 357 00:18:05,210 --> 00:18:08,143 [Michelle] The Blacks that survived the massacre 358 00:18:08,176 --> 00:18:09,776 were forced to exist 359 00:18:09,810 --> 00:18:12,643 with thousands of White rioters, 360 00:18:12,676 --> 00:18:14,643 who had destroyed their community. 361 00:18:14,676 --> 00:18:16,276 Blacks would see 362 00:18:16,310 --> 00:18:19,776 a White woman wearing her hat, 363 00:18:19,810 --> 00:18:22,176 her gloves, something from her home. 364 00:18:22,210 --> 00:18:24,310 There was at least one woman 365 00:18:24,343 --> 00:18:27,310 that saw a White woman wearing her hat 366 00:18:27,343 --> 00:18:29,810 and demanded that she return it. 367 00:18:29,843 --> 00:18:33,576 It's one of the aspects of the massacre 368 00:18:33,610 --> 00:18:35,576 that makes their ability 369 00:18:35,610 --> 00:18:38,676 to move forward so incredible. 370 00:18:38,710 --> 00:18:42,843 The fact that they knew some of the people 371 00:18:42,876 --> 00:18:44,810 that participated in the massacre 372 00:18:44,843 --> 00:18:47,210 and knew that there would be no consequences. 373 00:18:50,010 --> 00:18:51,476 [Gloria] Our great grandmother suffered 374 00:18:51,510 --> 00:18:53,110 a lot of mental issues 375 00:18:53,110 --> 00:18:54,510 because of all the devastation 376 00:18:54,543 --> 00:18:56,143 and the massacre. 377 00:18:56,176 --> 00:18:57,943 She never got back to being quite the Loula 378 00:18:57,976 --> 00:19:01,643 she was before. 379 00:19:01,676 --> 00:19:04,410 But she did rebuild the Dreamland Theatre, 380 00:19:04,443 --> 00:19:07,010 used the income from her other two theaters 381 00:19:07,110 --> 00:19:09,543 to supplement the rebuilding. 382 00:19:09,576 --> 00:19:11,110 But she still pulled through, 383 00:19:11,110 --> 00:19:12,810 served her city, 384 00:19:12,843 --> 00:19:15,110 and tried to help those less fortunate. 385 00:19:19,110 --> 00:19:22,110 To think that your entire community is bombed 386 00:19:22,110 --> 00:19:25,543 and not only did you have this level of destruction, 387 00:19:25,576 --> 00:19:28,110 of death, of property looting, 388 00:19:28,110 --> 00:19:30,143 but there was a huge effort on the part of the state 389 00:19:30,176 --> 00:19:32,310 to pretend that it didn't happen, 390 00:19:32,343 --> 00:19:36,310 and to silence everyone who dared to speak about it. 391 00:19:36,343 --> 00:19:39,143 People from all over the country 392 00:19:39,176 --> 00:19:42,176 were offering Oklahoma 393 00:19:42,210 --> 00:19:44,843 and the City of Tulsa help, 394 00:19:44,876 --> 00:19:48,210 which they refused. 395 00:19:48,243 --> 00:19:51,710 And they were denying the dead bodies, 396 00:19:51,743 --> 00:19:54,576 diminishing the damage 397 00:19:54,610 --> 00:19:56,876 to hide the story 398 00:19:56,910 --> 00:20:00,476 of what had happened here in Tulsa. 399 00:20:00,510 --> 00:20:03,710 Survivors did not talk 400 00:20:03,743 --> 00:20:05,410 about the massacre, 401 00:20:05,443 --> 00:20:07,810 not to each other, not to their children, 402 00:20:07,843 --> 00:20:10,043 there was a silence. 403 00:20:10,076 --> 00:20:11,876 [Regina] People didn't talk about it because they knew 404 00:20:11,910 --> 00:20:13,876 their lives would still be threatened 405 00:20:13,910 --> 00:20:15,343 because of the very White folks, 406 00:20:15,376 --> 00:20:16,910 including the police, 407 00:20:16,943 --> 00:20:19,210 including the state, including the city, 408 00:20:19,243 --> 00:20:22,010 they're all complicit in murder. 409 00:20:22,043 --> 00:20:24,243 So who you gonna run to if you need help? 410 00:20:24,276 --> 00:20:27,543 So either you're gonna talk about it and risk your life, 411 00:20:27,576 --> 00:20:29,710 or you gonna be quiet about it 412 00:20:29,743 --> 00:20:31,176 and try to get on with your life. 413 00:20:31,210 --> 00:20:34,143 [dramatic music playing] 414 00:20:34,176 --> 00:20:37,410 [Angela] It has to do with the kind of fear 415 00:20:37,443 --> 00:20:41,010 that is connected with giving voice 416 00:20:41,043 --> 00:20:43,510 to something. 417 00:20:43,543 --> 00:20:47,510 Black people remained silent about this 418 00:20:47,543 --> 00:20:50,310 because they didn't want the next generation 419 00:20:50,343 --> 00:20:54,076 to have to undergo the same violence. 420 00:20:56,276 --> 00:20:59,576 They didn't want the past to become the present 421 00:20:59,610 --> 00:21:01,443 and the future. 422 00:21:04,310 --> 00:21:08,776 [man] By 1942, the number of businesses had grown, 423 00:21:08,810 --> 00:21:10,310 it was a larger community, 424 00:21:10,343 --> 00:21:12,276 it was a much more affluent community 425 00:21:12,310 --> 00:21:15,276 than it had ever been in 1921. 426 00:21:15,310 --> 00:21:18,276 [upbeat music playing] 427 00:21:18,310 --> 00:21:22,110 [indistinct chatter] 428 00:21:22,143 --> 00:21:23,776 [Bobby] Oh, boy. 429 00:21:23,810 --> 00:21:26,110 I got the latter part of Greenwood. 430 00:21:26,110 --> 00:21:28,243 We used to go into the Rex Theatre, 431 00:21:28,276 --> 00:21:30,476 to King Park and swim, 432 00:21:30,510 --> 00:21:33,276 and there was so much joy, so much fun, 433 00:21:33,310 --> 00:21:35,110 so much innocence, you know. 434 00:21:35,143 --> 00:21:38,476 And it was still a thriving community, 435 00:21:38,510 --> 00:21:40,276 you know, back in those days. 436 00:21:40,310 --> 00:21:43,310 [upbeat music playing] 437 00:21:45,310 --> 00:21:47,210 [man] Democracy was on the march in Washington 438 00:21:47,243 --> 00:21:49,743 as 200,000 people converge on The Capitol 439 00:21:49,776 --> 00:21:52,376 -to rally for civil rights. -[Ellora] In the 1960s, 440 00:21:52,410 --> 00:21:54,610 the Civil Rights Movement was demanding 441 00:21:54,643 --> 00:21:56,643 economic and political rights. 442 00:21:58,743 --> 00:22:03,443 Black Americans in Tulsa were addressing inequality, 443 00:22:03,476 --> 00:22:06,310 poverty, and segregation. 444 00:22:06,343 --> 00:22:09,843 [Bobby] My dad was the first Black man 445 00:22:09,876 --> 00:22:11,443 during the Civil Rights Movement 446 00:22:11,476 --> 00:22:14,376 in North Tulsa, Oklahoma who got arrested 447 00:22:14,410 --> 00:22:16,843 and went to jail, for standing for rights. 448 00:22:16,876 --> 00:22:20,543 He was just like a soldier. 449 00:22:20,576 --> 00:22:24,143 He was what I call the Malcolm X of Tulsa, 450 00:22:24,176 --> 00:22:26,810 you know, that's what he was like. 451 00:22:26,843 --> 00:22:29,843 [upbeat music playing] 452 00:22:31,510 --> 00:22:33,110 [Michelle] Black Wall Street thrived 453 00:22:33,143 --> 00:22:35,943 until the end of segregation. 454 00:22:35,976 --> 00:22:38,943 When African-Americans were able to spend their money 455 00:22:38,976 --> 00:22:42,143 outside of their community, they began to do so. 456 00:22:42,176 --> 00:22:44,276 It wasn't that the product or the services 457 00:22:44,310 --> 00:22:46,276 was any better, it was simply 458 00:22:46,310 --> 00:22:48,010 that now they have the right 459 00:22:48,110 --> 00:22:50,476 to walk into a White-owned establishment, 460 00:22:50,510 --> 00:22:52,376 and they wanted to experience that, 461 00:22:52,410 --> 00:22:55,143 not understanding how those businesses 462 00:22:55,176 --> 00:22:57,543 on Greenwood would suffer. 463 00:22:59,743 --> 00:23:02,743 As a young person who never experienced segregation, 464 00:23:02,776 --> 00:23:05,410 Black Wall Street revealed to me 465 00:23:05,443 --> 00:23:07,610 that there were positive aspects about living 466 00:23:07,643 --> 00:23:10,843 in these all-Black enclaves. 467 00:23:10,876 --> 00:23:13,410 But I think we need to sort of to look at the success 468 00:23:13,443 --> 00:23:15,610 of many of these Black entrepreneurs 469 00:23:15,643 --> 00:23:17,876 and the independence they were able to have at that time, 470 00:23:17,910 --> 00:23:19,676 and how hard that is to recreate 471 00:23:19,710 --> 00:23:21,443 in a White-controlled society. 472 00:23:21,476 --> 00:23:23,776 You see that there are some drawbacks. 473 00:23:23,810 --> 00:23:25,610 [indistinct chatter] 474 00:23:25,643 --> 00:23:28,210 [Lyndon] Our task is to help 475 00:23:28,243 --> 00:23:30,443 replace their despair 476 00:23:30,476 --> 00:23:33,110 with opportunity. 477 00:23:33,143 --> 00:23:36,410 And this administration today, 478 00:23:36,443 --> 00:23:38,343 here and now, 479 00:23:38,376 --> 00:23:41,243 declares unconditional war 480 00:23:41,276 --> 00:23:43,210 on poverty in America. 481 00:23:43,243 --> 00:23:46,610 [crowd applauding] 482 00:23:46,643 --> 00:23:49,910 There are some forms of inequality 483 00:23:49,943 --> 00:23:52,410 that are so influenced by history 484 00:23:52,443 --> 00:23:55,910 and the wealth gap is actually one of those. 485 00:23:55,943 --> 00:23:58,676 The so-called war on poverty 486 00:23:58,710 --> 00:24:01,676 was really a war on Black folks. 487 00:24:01,710 --> 00:24:04,743 And that war had many expressions 488 00:24:04,776 --> 00:24:09,143 including tearing down of historical habitations 489 00:24:09,176 --> 00:24:11,976 that has happened in Greenwood. 490 00:24:12,010 --> 00:24:15,976 [upbeat music playing] 491 00:24:16,010 --> 00:24:17,843 [Michelle] Urban renewal came through 492 00:24:17,876 --> 00:24:20,110 with the promise to help rebuild 493 00:24:20,110 --> 00:24:21,676 the Greenwood district, 494 00:24:21,710 --> 00:24:24,610 and that's not exactly what happened. 495 00:24:24,643 --> 00:24:26,776 [James] It was something called urban renewal, 496 00:24:26,810 --> 00:24:28,976 which means moving the Negros out, 497 00:24:29,010 --> 00:24:30,676 getting... It means Negro removal. 498 00:24:30,710 --> 00:24:32,276 That is what it means. 499 00:24:32,310 --> 00:24:34,943 And the federal government 500 00:24:34,976 --> 00:24:37,743 is an accomplice to this fact. 501 00:24:37,776 --> 00:24:40,476 [Michelle] The City of Tulsa would build the expressway 502 00:24:40,510 --> 00:24:42,610 through the heart of the Greenwood District, 503 00:24:42,643 --> 00:24:46,010 which caused property values to decline. 504 00:24:47,610 --> 00:24:49,610 [indistinct chatter] 505 00:24:49,643 --> 00:24:52,643 [man speaking] 506 00:24:55,943 --> 00:24:58,943 Yes [indistinct] 507 00:25:00,443 --> 00:25:01,576 [man] Yeah. 508 00:25:06,276 --> 00:25:07,376 [man] I see. 509 00:25:10,410 --> 00:25:14,010 If the attacks on Black communities 510 00:25:14,110 --> 00:25:16,510 by White supremacists 511 00:25:16,543 --> 00:25:19,710 did not push back the resistance, 512 00:25:19,743 --> 00:25:22,410 then they would use city governments 513 00:25:22,443 --> 00:25:25,410 and zoning laws and freeways 514 00:25:25,443 --> 00:25:28,243 to guarantee that this community 515 00:25:28,276 --> 00:25:30,410 did not continue. 516 00:25:33,576 --> 00:25:37,010 [J. Kavin] I-44 sits upon the footprints 517 00:25:37,110 --> 00:25:39,410 of my great grandfather's business. 518 00:25:39,443 --> 00:25:40,810 And I was starting to believe 519 00:25:40,843 --> 00:25:43,710 that was a message that was sent out, 520 00:25:43,743 --> 00:25:46,676 "You better not try to rebuild this Greenwood again 521 00:25:46,710 --> 00:25:49,943 or we'll come back and tear it up again." 522 00:25:55,910 --> 00:25:57,310 [upbeat music playing] 523 00:25:59,243 --> 00:26:00,943 [Bobby] Gap Band stands 524 00:26:00,976 --> 00:26:03,910 for Greenwood, Archer, and Pine Street Band. 525 00:26:03,943 --> 00:26:05,676 The Wilson brothers, 526 00:26:05,710 --> 00:26:07,776 Charlie, Robert, and Ronnie Wilson. 527 00:26:07,810 --> 00:26:09,443 They grew up right here in Tulsa, 528 00:26:09,476 --> 00:26:12,176 they made a lot of platinum and gold records. 529 00:26:12,210 --> 00:26:15,376 * You were the girl for me* 530 00:26:15,410 --> 00:26:17,910 [Bobby] I witnessed some of those songs being made. 531 00:26:17,943 --> 00:26:20,210 * I stand accused* 532 00:26:20,243 --> 00:26:22,376 * You were the first for me* 533 00:26:22,410 --> 00:26:24,776 * But you Turned me out, baby* 534 00:26:24,810 --> 00:26:27,610 You dropped a bomb on me, baby. 535 00:26:27,643 --> 00:26:29,876 * You dropped a bomb on me* 536 00:26:29,910 --> 00:26:31,176 [Bobby] And that's what happened here 537 00:26:31,210 --> 00:26:32,876 on Black Wall Street. 538 00:26:32,910 --> 00:26:35,110 [singer] * You were my pills* 539 00:26:35,110 --> 00:26:36,776 [Bobby] That's what it's in reference to. 540 00:26:36,810 --> 00:26:38,410 And a lot of people didn't know that. 541 00:26:38,443 --> 00:26:40,243 When that song came out, they looked at it, 542 00:26:40,276 --> 00:26:43,510 "Okay. It's just a jamming song," 543 00:26:43,543 --> 00:26:45,576 that had some hidden meaning to a lot of people 544 00:26:45,610 --> 00:26:48,110 back in those days. 545 00:26:48,110 --> 00:26:49,943 * Then you turned me on* 546 00:26:49,976 --> 00:26:53,110 * You dropped a bomb on me* 547 00:26:53,143 --> 00:26:56,143 [dramatic music playing] 548 00:26:58,210 --> 00:27:00,276 We are still trying to, a hundred years later, 549 00:27:00,310 --> 00:27:03,443 recover from the trauma of the past. 550 00:27:07,110 --> 00:27:10,576 [Raven] Our family has sued for reparations and lost. 551 00:27:10,610 --> 00:27:12,010 The City of Tulsa, 552 00:27:12,110 --> 00:27:13,743 the State of Oklahoma 553 00:27:13,776 --> 00:27:17,710 sent my great aunt a medallion. 554 00:27:20,876 --> 00:27:23,576 That was their way of saying sorry. 555 00:27:23,610 --> 00:27:26,976 [dramatic music playing] 556 00:27:27,010 --> 00:27:28,843 [Raven] A healing cannot take place 557 00:27:28,876 --> 00:27:30,876 without an accountability. 558 00:27:33,176 --> 00:27:36,510 So my appeal to the leaders of Tulsa 559 00:27:36,543 --> 00:27:38,676 and the State of Oklahoma, 560 00:27:38,710 --> 00:27:41,910 to say how long is it going to take? 561 00:27:41,943 --> 00:27:45,343 We've been fighting for a hundred years. 562 00:27:47,610 --> 00:27:49,510 It's on you. 563 00:27:53,143 --> 00:27:55,910 [Venita] There's not enough consequence right now 564 00:27:55,943 --> 00:27:59,143 for what has happened. 565 00:27:59,176 --> 00:28:03,143 They were supposed to receive reparations, the families, 566 00:28:03,176 --> 00:28:05,576 and they never received those reparations. 567 00:28:05,610 --> 00:28:08,110 And that's part of the trauma, right, 568 00:28:08,110 --> 00:28:12,110 of like never seeing your perpetrators 569 00:28:12,110 --> 00:28:13,843 be held accountable, 570 00:28:13,876 --> 00:28:16,143 the devaluing of your life. 571 00:28:16,176 --> 00:28:19,143 [suspenseful music playing] 572 00:28:19,176 --> 00:28:23,110 There are direct parallels between 2021 and 1921. 573 00:28:23,110 --> 00:28:26,376 We're still talking about police misconduct. 574 00:28:26,410 --> 00:28:28,810 Police were a part of the group, 575 00:28:28,843 --> 00:28:32,210 the mob, who shot and killed, right, 576 00:28:32,243 --> 00:28:34,543 defenseless Black people. 577 00:28:34,576 --> 00:28:36,510 [Stefan] I recognize this clearly 578 00:28:36,543 --> 00:28:38,510 on the streets of Ferguson 579 00:28:38,543 --> 00:28:43,176 when people weren't allowed to be on their own lawns, 580 00:28:43,210 --> 00:28:48,110 the collusion of state violence and racism. 581 00:28:48,110 --> 00:28:51,176 And in Greenwood, this was what was at stake, 582 00:28:51,210 --> 00:28:53,810 this collusion of police, 583 00:28:53,843 --> 00:28:56,176 of politics, of culture, 584 00:28:56,210 --> 00:28:57,976 neighbor against neighbor. 585 00:28:58,010 --> 00:29:01,410 All of these things came to mean in the destruction 586 00:29:01,443 --> 00:29:02,976 of what was otherwise 587 00:29:03,010 --> 00:29:05,110 a most beautiful American story. 588 00:29:07,243 --> 00:29:09,210 [Jabraan] I actually remember the very moment 589 00:29:09,243 --> 00:29:12,110 I learned about Greenwood. It was actually in school. 590 00:29:12,110 --> 00:29:15,543 Our teacher took us to the Tulsa City County Library. 591 00:29:15,576 --> 00:29:18,143 We spent one full day 592 00:29:18,176 --> 00:29:19,976 learning about the atrocities 593 00:29:20,010 --> 00:29:21,976 that happened on Greenwood. 594 00:29:22,010 --> 00:29:23,610 And I have never heard of it. 595 00:29:23,643 --> 00:29:25,576 And look at all of the old 596 00:29:25,610 --> 00:29:28,376 newspaper clippings. 597 00:29:28,410 --> 00:29:31,376 The newspaper had no record 598 00:29:31,410 --> 00:29:33,143 of the race massacre. 599 00:29:33,176 --> 00:29:36,143 The first several pages of that newspaper 600 00:29:36,176 --> 00:29:39,910 had been removed as if it never existed. 601 00:29:39,943 --> 00:29:42,976 I will never forget how strange 602 00:29:43,010 --> 00:29:45,610 that idea was to me even as a seventh grader 603 00:29:45,643 --> 00:29:48,110 that someone would want to remove 604 00:29:48,110 --> 00:29:52,276 such a profound point 605 00:29:52,310 --> 00:29:54,110 in history. 606 00:29:54,110 --> 00:29:57,543 [upbeat music playing] 607 00:29:57,576 --> 00:29:59,543 [Venita] I wanted to be on Black Wall Street 608 00:29:59,576 --> 00:30:01,776 for a variety of reasons. 609 00:30:01,810 --> 00:30:03,976 Obviously, the history 610 00:30:04,010 --> 00:30:06,476 is very compelling to me. 611 00:30:06,510 --> 00:30:09,143 I didn't know about Grier Shoe Shop 612 00:30:09,176 --> 00:30:11,043 until actually we had opened 613 00:30:11,076 --> 00:30:13,243 and a journalist came and interviewed me 614 00:30:13,276 --> 00:30:15,110 and, you know, she was like, 615 00:30:15,143 --> 00:30:17,543 "How does it feel to be where the Grier Shoe Shop was?" 616 00:30:17,576 --> 00:30:20,910 And I was like, "Oh, my God. That's crazy." 617 00:30:20,943 --> 00:30:24,543 We have a framed photo of an advertisement 618 00:30:24,576 --> 00:30:28,143 for the Grier Shoe Shop from The Tulsa Star. 619 00:30:30,910 --> 00:30:32,976 [Onikah] Being a Black entrepreneur 620 00:30:33,010 --> 00:30:35,976 requires a level of defiance. 621 00:30:36,010 --> 00:30:37,476 And I'm proud of the shoulders 622 00:30:37,510 --> 00:30:39,743 that I stand on. 623 00:30:42,010 --> 00:30:44,143 Lulu Williams for having been a teacher, 624 00:30:44,176 --> 00:30:46,776 also creating space where folks could gather, 625 00:30:46,810 --> 00:30:48,610 where folks could watch cinema, 626 00:30:48,643 --> 00:30:50,410 engage in discussion, 627 00:30:50,443 --> 00:30:52,976 it's a similar vein in terms of what I wanted 628 00:30:53,010 --> 00:30:55,043 to create in Fulton Street. 629 00:30:55,076 --> 00:30:56,976 The parallels are very strong. 630 00:30:59,076 --> 00:31:00,976 And that's the beautiful thing 631 00:31:01,010 --> 00:31:04,976 about being a Black business owner now 632 00:31:05,010 --> 00:31:07,276 is knowing that there is precedent 633 00:31:07,310 --> 00:31:08,543 for what I'm building. 634 00:31:10,876 --> 00:31:14,376 But there's also an anxiety 635 00:31:16,176 --> 00:31:19,543 because if you took it out the first time 636 00:31:19,576 --> 00:31:22,510 and you took it out again, 637 00:31:22,543 --> 00:31:24,110 if I look toward the horizon, 638 00:31:24,143 --> 00:31:26,710 I'm worried about what is that next thing 639 00:31:26,743 --> 00:31:29,143 that's coming to destroy this again? 640 00:31:33,276 --> 00:31:34,976 [Jerica] The fact of the matter is, 641 00:31:35,010 --> 00:31:36,976 is that Greenwood is what humanity looked like 642 00:31:37,010 --> 00:31:39,676 for those that had to stretch to find it. 643 00:31:39,710 --> 00:31:41,710 The matter is that, Greenwood understood 644 00:31:41,743 --> 00:31:43,910 that Black Lives Matter before it was an it thing 645 00:31:43,943 --> 00:31:46,243 and yet ironically enough, Black Lives Matter 646 00:31:46,276 --> 00:31:48,376 can even be placed boldly in the heart of the space 647 00:31:48,410 --> 00:31:50,343 so I guess the more things change, 648 00:31:50,376 --> 00:31:53,676 the more they stay the same. 649 00:31:53,710 --> 00:31:56,143 [Onikah] When I think of gentrifying neighborhoods, 650 00:31:56,176 --> 00:31:58,243 gentrification and noise complaints 651 00:31:58,276 --> 00:31:59,743 go hand in hand, 652 00:31:59,776 --> 00:32:02,143 noise complaints serve as a means 653 00:32:02,176 --> 00:32:04,810 to police Black and Brown bodies. 654 00:32:04,843 --> 00:32:07,410 You have White folks moving in to communities, 655 00:32:07,443 --> 00:32:09,810 calling police on their "neighbors" 656 00:32:09,843 --> 00:32:12,310 and those neighbors being over-policed. 657 00:32:15,443 --> 00:32:17,210 [Jerica] The Black Lives Matter mural, 658 00:32:17,243 --> 00:32:20,110 it was a beautiful experience. 659 00:32:20,110 --> 00:32:21,743 The community came together. 660 00:32:21,776 --> 00:32:24,743 But then the city then began 661 00:32:24,776 --> 00:32:27,243 receiving complaints. 662 00:32:27,276 --> 00:32:29,910 As a result, that street was repaved. 663 00:32:31,776 --> 00:32:35,943 The energy and the expediency 664 00:32:35,976 --> 00:32:38,743 put in place to remind us that your Black life 665 00:32:38,776 --> 00:32:40,810 does not matter in Greenwood District, 666 00:32:40,843 --> 00:32:42,376 not now, not never. 667 00:32:42,410 --> 00:32:46,110 That was a slap in the face. 668 00:32:48,810 --> 00:32:52,110 [Onikah] It's hard to be something 669 00:32:52,110 --> 00:32:54,543 or aspire to be something 670 00:32:54,576 --> 00:32:56,476 in which you don't see yourself reflected. 671 00:32:58,576 --> 00:33:00,810 In the Greenwood District, 672 00:33:00,843 --> 00:33:05,110 it is becoming harder and harder to see ourselves 673 00:33:05,143 --> 00:33:08,343 in a space that used to be... 674 00:33:08,376 --> 00:33:09,910 us. 675 00:33:13,110 --> 00:33:15,310 [woman] There are efforts to rebuild Black Wall Street. 676 00:33:15,343 --> 00:33:18,376 But today's entrepreneurs are facing the same issues 677 00:33:18,410 --> 00:33:20,010 that Black communities in cities 678 00:33:20,110 --> 00:33:22,710 have faced for decades. 679 00:33:22,743 --> 00:33:26,610 When you look at who owns the physical spaces 680 00:33:26,643 --> 00:33:30,010 our businesses inhabit, or accessing capital, 681 00:33:30,110 --> 00:33:32,210 those are not Black folks. 682 00:33:32,243 --> 00:33:34,810 We are digging ourselves out of a ditch 683 00:33:34,843 --> 00:33:39,210 that we did not create for ourselves. 684 00:33:39,243 --> 00:33:42,376 I was in Vail and walking down, 685 00:33:42,410 --> 00:33:44,010 you know, kind of the shopping area, 686 00:33:44,110 --> 00:33:46,443 one of the folks we were with said, 687 00:33:46,476 --> 00:33:48,376 "Hey, that's my uncle's ski shop." 688 00:33:48,410 --> 00:33:51,210 You know, I had just one of those moments 689 00:33:51,243 --> 00:33:53,843 where it hit you like a ton of bricks. 690 00:33:53,876 --> 00:33:57,210 There is nowhere in this country, 691 00:33:57,243 --> 00:33:59,010 in this world, right, that I could walk by 692 00:33:59,110 --> 00:34:02,876 and be like my, insert whoever, owns this. 693 00:34:02,910 --> 00:34:07,110 [upbeat music playing] 694 00:34:07,143 --> 00:34:10,410 [Jerica] I was parking my car 695 00:34:10,443 --> 00:34:13,343 and a White man came up to my window. 696 00:34:13,376 --> 00:34:15,876 He knocked on it and he said, 697 00:34:15,910 --> 00:34:18,110 "Uh, you can't park here," 698 00:34:18,143 --> 00:34:21,576 not knowing that I had access to the space. 699 00:34:21,610 --> 00:34:25,742 And I got completely enraged, 700 00:34:25,776 --> 00:34:27,410 "Why can't I park here? 701 00:34:27,443 --> 00:34:30,276 We used to own all of this." Like... 702 00:34:30,309 --> 00:34:33,276 [upbeat music playing] 703 00:34:33,309 --> 00:34:35,943 [Angela] Land, it's so important 704 00:34:35,976 --> 00:34:37,710 because without land, 705 00:34:37,742 --> 00:34:41,376 there's no possibility of sustenance. 706 00:34:41,410 --> 00:34:45,276 Black landowners have decreased 707 00:34:45,309 --> 00:34:48,910 in such phenomenal numbers. 708 00:34:48,943 --> 00:34:52,776 And that is another example of the assertion 709 00:34:52,809 --> 00:34:54,876 of White supremacy. 710 00:34:54,910 --> 00:34:59,510 [dramatic music playing] 711 00:34:59,543 --> 00:35:02,243 [Bobby] It's sad. 712 00:35:02,276 --> 00:35:04,443 When I go down Greenwood, 713 00:35:04,476 --> 00:35:07,743 and look at the emptiness. 714 00:35:07,776 --> 00:35:10,176 I can see some of the buildings 715 00:35:10,210 --> 00:35:12,176 and some of the stuff that was down there 716 00:35:12,210 --> 00:35:13,576 in my eyes. 717 00:35:13,610 --> 00:35:15,476 But my children, you know, 718 00:35:15,510 --> 00:35:17,343 they'll never know. 719 00:35:17,376 --> 00:35:20,376 [dramatic music playing] 720 00:35:22,943 --> 00:35:26,610 [Onikah gasps] It's the black sheep. 721 00:35:26,643 --> 00:35:27,976 My daughter, Hodessa, 722 00:35:28,010 --> 00:35:30,443 is a new form of inspiration for me. 723 00:35:32,643 --> 00:35:36,243 What is she gonna see her mom build, 724 00:35:36,276 --> 00:35:37,943 you know, throughout her lifetime? 725 00:35:39,876 --> 00:35:41,176 Being in the seat to think about 726 00:35:41,210 --> 00:35:42,943 those who are coming after me 727 00:35:42,976 --> 00:35:45,010 and more specifically my own child, 728 00:35:45,110 --> 00:35:47,476 gives me inspiration to go further. 729 00:35:50,843 --> 00:35:53,176 [Venita] Right now there's this clot of land 730 00:35:53,210 --> 00:35:55,343 in Greenwood. 731 00:35:55,376 --> 00:35:57,610 The city owns it right now and they're trying to figure out 732 00:35:57,643 --> 00:35:59,476 what to do with it. They wanna develop on it. 733 00:35:59,510 --> 00:36:03,010 We're talking about land that was owned, you know, 734 00:36:03,110 --> 00:36:04,676 commercial properties that were owned 735 00:36:04,710 --> 00:36:07,476 by Black people. 736 00:36:07,510 --> 00:36:10,443 The land needs to go to the Black community. 737 00:36:11,776 --> 00:36:13,776 That's the answer. 738 00:36:15,110 --> 00:36:16,710 To lean on the words of Malcolm X, 739 00:36:16,743 --> 00:36:19,710 "If you stab me in my back nine inches 740 00:36:19,743 --> 00:36:21,843 and you pull that knife out six inches, 741 00:36:21,876 --> 00:36:23,576 that is not progress." 742 00:36:23,610 --> 00:36:25,410 If you pull it all the way out, that's not progress. 743 00:36:25,443 --> 00:36:27,543 The progress is healing the wound that the blow... 744 00:36:27,576 --> 00:36:29,410 That the blow made. 745 00:36:29,443 --> 00:36:31,343 [Onikah] We can't start to call it progress 746 00:36:31,376 --> 00:36:34,243 until we've started to heal the wound 747 00:36:34,276 --> 00:36:36,710 that was brought on this community. 748 00:36:40,243 --> 00:36:41,543 -[crowd] George Floyd! -[man] Say his name! 749 00:36:41,576 --> 00:36:42,876 -[crowd] George Floyd! -[man] Say her name! 750 00:36:42,910 --> 00:36:44,276 -[crowd] Breonna Taylor! -[man] Say her name! 751 00:36:44,310 --> 00:36:45,710 -[crowd] Breonna Taylor! -[man] Say her name! 752 00:36:45,743 --> 00:36:47,276 -[crowd] Breonna Taylor! -[man] Say her name! 753 00:36:47,310 --> 00:36:49,643 [Venita] It will be a hard and strenuous fight. 754 00:36:52,110 --> 00:36:54,343 We have grown used to strenuous existence 755 00:36:54,376 --> 00:36:55,910 and rather enjoy tackling 756 00:36:55,943 --> 00:36:58,876 the big, difficult things of life, 757 00:36:58,910 --> 00:37:02,176 especially when the necessary attending hardships 758 00:37:02,210 --> 00:37:05,843 and sacrifice mean a step forward for the race. 759 00:37:05,876 --> 00:37:08,676 [woman] We educate it, we mobilize, we organize, 760 00:37:08,710 --> 00:37:10,243 and we got people out to the poles. 761 00:37:10,276 --> 00:37:14,343 AJ Smitherman, 1918. 762 00:37:14,376 --> 00:37:17,976 [upbeat music playing] 763 00:37:18,010 --> 00:37:21,876 Black Wall Street is important to the imagination, 764 00:37:24,176 --> 00:37:26,410 imagining what life would have been like 765 00:37:26,443 --> 00:37:30,443 for Black people who made the most of the least. 766 00:37:32,543 --> 00:37:36,743 I would put JB Stratford and OW Gurley 767 00:37:36,776 --> 00:37:39,143 against the Vanderbilts, and the Rockefellers 768 00:37:39,176 --> 00:37:41,743 and the Carnegies who did not have the barriers 769 00:37:41,776 --> 00:37:43,910 to success that AC Jackson 770 00:37:43,943 --> 00:37:47,443 or OW Gurley or JB Stratford had. 771 00:37:47,476 --> 00:37:49,343 Their achievements need to be understood 772 00:37:49,376 --> 00:37:51,343 in light up the barriers, 773 00:37:51,376 --> 00:37:54,943 the everyday racial abuse 774 00:37:56,376 --> 00:37:58,976 they were able to overcome 775 00:37:59,010 --> 00:38:01,576 to achieve success and wealth. 776 00:38:01,610 --> 00:38:05,810 [dramatic music playing] 777 00:38:05,843 --> 00:38:07,543 [Venita] A beautiful community was built 778 00:38:07,576 --> 00:38:09,576 on the backs of Black men and Black women 779 00:38:09,610 --> 00:38:13,876 who have inspired in me the sense of possibility. 780 00:38:17,510 --> 00:38:20,843 If there are more Black kids who could hear those stories, 781 00:38:20,876 --> 00:38:23,310 we'd be setting more generations up for success. 782 00:38:23,343 --> 00:38:26,343 [dramatic music playing] 783 00:38:29,243 --> 00:38:31,543 [Jabraan] To be able to imagine yourself 784 00:38:31,576 --> 00:38:35,110 being successful, it really helps to see people 785 00:38:35,110 --> 00:38:37,310 who look like you be successful. 786 00:38:37,343 --> 00:38:41,310 In Greenwood, our businesses have always been 787 00:38:41,343 --> 00:38:45,210 more than about gaining capital. 788 00:38:45,243 --> 00:38:47,476 It's more about how does this stand 789 00:38:47,510 --> 00:38:50,143 to serve community. 790 00:38:50,176 --> 00:38:51,910 You have a dream, I'm investing in that dream 791 00:38:51,943 --> 00:38:53,410 instead of interrogating it 792 00:38:53,443 --> 00:38:55,476 because I believe our community 793 00:38:55,510 --> 00:38:57,810 is gonna be better for it. 794 00:38:57,843 --> 00:39:00,476 The more business owners we have, 795 00:39:00,510 --> 00:39:02,610 I think we'll start to slowly eat away 796 00:39:02,643 --> 00:39:05,110 at some of those barriers that our young entrepreneurs 797 00:39:05,143 --> 00:39:07,943 are facing. 798 00:39:07,976 --> 00:39:11,643 The spirit of Greenwood is universal 799 00:39:11,676 --> 00:39:13,910 and anyone can take that blueprint 800 00:39:13,943 --> 00:39:15,776 and use it for their own success. 801 00:39:17,443 --> 00:39:20,110 [Venita] Even though that physical location 802 00:39:20,110 --> 00:39:22,376 no longer exist and probably will never return 803 00:39:22,410 --> 00:39:24,876 to what it once was, 804 00:39:24,910 --> 00:39:26,943 in many ways it's greater 805 00:39:26,976 --> 00:39:31,543 because it's now in all types of places. 806 00:39:31,576 --> 00:39:33,143 People all across the country 807 00:39:33,176 --> 00:39:34,743 and all across the world can be inspired 808 00:39:34,776 --> 00:39:37,943 by this story and create something. 809 00:39:37,976 --> 00:39:40,976 [upbeat music playing] 810 00:39:46,976 --> 00:39:48,976 [Ellora] We should elevate those stories 811 00:39:49,010 --> 00:39:52,276 of Black possibility that we see so clearly 812 00:39:52,310 --> 00:39:54,110 in Tulsa before the massacre 813 00:39:54,143 --> 00:39:57,010 and in many, many points throughout US history, 814 00:39:59,310 --> 00:40:02,143 so that we unlearn the idea 815 00:40:02,176 --> 00:40:04,743 that we're in the place that we should be in. 816 00:40:04,776 --> 00:40:06,410 There are voices that were waiting to be heard. 817 00:40:06,443 --> 00:40:07,876 [Ellora] There's another kind of life 818 00:40:07,910 --> 00:40:09,376 that we can live. 819 00:40:09,410 --> 00:40:10,910 We're here for business and I'm really ready 820 00:40:10,943 --> 00:40:12,876 -to get started. -[Ellora] As a society, 821 00:40:12,910 --> 00:40:14,543 we need to work towards that vision 822 00:40:14,576 --> 00:40:15,910 and that possibility. 823 00:40:15,943 --> 00:40:18,910 [upbeat music playing] 824 00:40:18,943 --> 00:40:21,743 [Raven] Generations of people realize 825 00:40:21,776 --> 00:40:24,910 that it's not okay what has happened in the past 826 00:40:24,943 --> 00:40:26,710 and so we're gonna do something different 827 00:40:26,743 --> 00:40:29,710 in the future. 828 00:40:29,743 --> 00:40:32,276 [Angela] Greenwood is about the flourishing 829 00:40:32,310 --> 00:40:34,276 of the community. 830 00:40:34,310 --> 00:40:37,876 And that should inspire us. 831 00:40:37,910 --> 00:40:40,876 We can certainly reconnect 832 00:40:40,910 --> 00:40:43,210 with that spirit and that impulse 833 00:40:43,243 --> 00:40:45,310 100 years later 834 00:40:45,343 --> 00:40:48,276 and try to fulfill the promises 835 00:40:48,310 --> 00:40:50,710 of those who did the work 836 00:40:50,743 --> 00:40:53,943 to generate such a powerful example 837 00:40:53,976 --> 00:40:56,943 of what it meant to be free. 838 00:40:56,976 --> 00:41:01,576 That is the task that is before us today. 839 00:41:05,710 --> 00:41:08,110 Greenwood has always been the trendsetter. 840 00:41:08,110 --> 00:41:10,343 The world is watching and waiting 841 00:41:10,376 --> 00:41:12,776 and we are going to make it worth their while. 842 00:41:12,810 --> 00:41:14,943 Greenwood, 843 00:41:14,976 --> 00:41:18,143 rich with the heritage and a knowing, 844 00:41:18,176 --> 00:41:21,476 got my heart swooning over the possibilities. 845 00:41:21,510 --> 00:41:23,476 It's got me open to the probabilities 846 00:41:23,510 --> 00:41:25,576 and I'm not the only one I know. 847 00:41:27,976 --> 00:41:30,476 You know how I know? 848 00:41:30,510 --> 00:41:32,210 My city told me. 849 00:41:32,243 --> 00:41:34,643 [upbeat music playing]