Posted at 23:06h
in
Politics
by Kayla Maroon
The early 20th century was a great time for blacks in Greenwood, OK. The oil boom brought tons of educated, wealthy blacks to the area and it became the Negro Wall Street for many prominent black businessmen.
Prior to its destruction, the predominantly black town was worth over 30 million dollars in today’s currency. Money circulated and stayed in the town because everything was black owned. From the airports to the movie theaters, Greenwood money only ever touched black hands.
In 1921, a devastating race riot resulted in the destruction of nearly 2000 homes and over millions of dollars worth of businesses were burned to the ground. From that day on, we were never able to return to that state again.
Here’s why….