Black Wall Street Historic District

Tulsa's Greenwood District, often called Black Wall Street, was one of the most prosperous African American communities in the United States before the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Black-owned banks, hotels, newspapers, theaters, restaurants, professional offices and shops created a thriving commercial corridor in a city otherwise shaped by segregation. On May 31 and June 1, 1921, white mobs attacked Greenwood, killing residents, burning blocks of homes and businesses and displacing thousands. Despite enormous losses and discriminatory barriers to rebuilding, Greenwood residents reconstructed much of the district in the following years. Today's historic district contains surviving landmarks, memorials, museums and newer development. The neighborhood should not be understood only through the massacre: its pre-1921 prosperity and post-massacre rebuilding are equally important. Sites such as Vernon AME Church, Greenwood Rising and the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park help visitors explore different parts of the story. Walking the district with that fuller context reveals both the scale of what was destroyed and the determination of the community that rebuilt it.