Do You Think Black Wall Street Would Work Today?

In acknowledgement of Black Histort Month, on tonight's show we'll be having a little history lesson on "Black Wall Street", its rise, its fall, and where blacks economically stand today as a result. For those who don't know, Black Wall Street originated in Tulsa, Oklahoma; a town you may have heard of for reasons unrelated to Black Wall Street. A lot of us may have heard of the term "Black Wall Street" but lack knowledge of its history, identity and place in African American history and there's no better time to have this discussion than in Black History Month.

"Oklahoma became an official U.S. State in 1907. During the early 20th century, Oklahoma was a state in which many blacks took refuge as it posed a more promising and habbital life style for blacks. After starting their own community (originally known as "Little Africa" later named "Greenwood" and eventually known as "Negro Wall Street" later to be named "Black Wall Street"), blacks started to expand their community and economy by building more thriving businesses.

Blacks were faced with racial segregation laws that prevented them from shopping anywhere other than Greenwood, which ultimately played to their advantage as their money continued to circulate within their own community. Blacks were literally creating their own economy.

In the early 20th century, there was an attempt to make Oklahoma the "First Black State" which was significant in attracting blacks to migrate there. Blacks were thriving until racial tesions lead to one of the greatest tragedies in United States history. Lead by the alleged assault of a young black 19 year old shoe shiner, Dick Rowland, on Sarah Page, a 17 year old white young lady, arguably the biggest race riot in U.S. history broke out, causing millions of dollars in damages and an esitmated death total of 300 blacks.

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