Remembering Black Wall Street on the 100th Anniversary of Its Destruction

Yesterday was Memorial Day, a day of mourning for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our nation. It also marked the 100th Anniversary of the Tulsa Massacre, which took place from May 31 - June 1, 1921, and destroyed much of the Greenwood District of Tulsa also known as "Black Wall Street." As such, I thought that it was worth paying homage to Black Wall Street, and reflect on what its rise and fall says about our nation when it comes to race relations.

Black Wall Street Before the Destruction

Before the riot of 1921, Black Wall Street was one of the wealthiest black communities in the nation. Built largely as a result of oil money, by 1921 Black Wall Street was nearly 40 city blocks and home to more than 100,000 black people. It was also home to luxury shops, 21 restaurants, 30 grocery stores, a hospital, a savings and loan, a post office, three hotels, jewelry and clothing stores, two movie theaters, a library, pool halls, a bus, a cab service, a nationally recognized school system, six private airplanes, and two black newspapers. All of this in the 1920s, and about as far removed from the end of slavery as we currently are from Jim Crow.

Additionally, as a result of segregation laws of the time, this community could only spend their money in this neighborhood, thus circulating their money and resulted in a number of doctors, lawyers, and business owners having elegant homes on Detroit Avenue. Booker T. Washington nicknamed the community "Negro Wall Street," which eventually morphed into Black Wall Street.

The Destruction of Black Wall Street and Its Effects

On May 30, 1921, a 19-year-old shoeshine worker named Dick Rowland was accused of assaulting a 17-year-old white elevator worker named Sarah Page, after either accidentally bumping into or stepping on her in the elevator. Page would eventually write a letter exonerating Rowland, but after his arrest the following day on May 31, the Tulsa Tribune alleged that he had attacked her and torn her clothes. As a result, a white mob gathered outside the courthouse, and black World War I veterans rushed to defend him.

After the confrontation and a fired shot, the white mob marched to Greenwood, where they torched and looted homes, driving families into the streets and randomly shooting blacks. By the end of June 1, 1921, 300 people had been killed, 10,000 were homeless, and the 35 square blocks known as Black Wall Street lied in ruins. The event also marked the first aerial assault committed on United States soil.

Unfortunately, no one was ever held accountable for the lost lives and property destroyed and the insurance claims filed by homeowner and business owners were rejected. This lack of accountability led many across the nation to lose any faith they had in the protection of the government, which played out in multiple areas. For instance, the drop in patents sought out by black inventors after the Tulsa Massacre was an estimated 1,100 inventions, which would have been equivalent to the entire economy of the Netherlands.

The Reparations Discussion

If there was ever a case for reparations, it would be for the survivors of the Tulsa Massacre. Common arguments you may hear against blacks seeking reparations for slavery, like no one alive today was directly a part of it, are not the case for the Tulsa Massacre. In fact, survivors testified to Congress earlier this month about their experiences as children during the incident.

I remember Charles Ogletree, who brought a case on behalf of the Tulsa Massacre survivors to the United States Supreme Court in 2005, visiting my law school when I was a student. He noted at the time their legal theory was that during the 2-year statute of limitations, and for years after it was over, there was no court where a reparations claim would have been taken seriously. Considering no one was even held accountable for the murder of hundreds of the community members and thousands of their properties, it's probably a good guess that a lawsuit seeking reparations would not have been successful. Unfortunately, though, the Supreme Court dismissed the case in 2005, after the lower courts had already ruled against the survivors on the basis that the statute of limitations expired in 1923.

Reflecting on incidents like Tulsa, which wasn't the only black community burned by white mobs, as well all of the many economic policies of the government like redlining that stifled generations of black wealth, the question of holding the government accountable for these losses should be up for discussion. As such, I fully support the current bill in the United States House to study reparations to African Americans, which among other things includes a study of discrimination of former slaves in the public and private sector. Seeing that those involved in the Tulsa Massacre were denied accountability by any governmental entity and insurance claims by the insurance companies, they would be ideal candidates. And while no price tag can heal the wounds of the lives lost in incidents like this, I believe the idea of the government taking some accountability for allowing practices like these to happen for decades would go a long way to the black community, similar to how its inaction affected previous generations after incidents like the Tulsa Massacre.

Conclusion

So after mourning those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country, I'd also like to mourn those who were lost during this tragic moment in history. Particularly, since some of the members of this community were World War I veterans and were willing to fight for our country, but came back to find that the country was not willing to do the same on their behalf. Hopefully, more people will support the current bill pending in Congress to study reparations, so our nation can truly seek healing for dark moments in its history like these.