via Wikimedia
The Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma held a thriving self-sufficient community known as Black Wall Street.
Out of jealousy, a mob of Ku Klux Klan members burned every establishment to the ground, terrorized inhabitants, and killed hundreds.
The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre traumatized generations, yet many Americans still have no clue such a devastating act of racial violence ever occurred.
That’s what makes the Greenwood Rising Project so crucial. A committee of Black leaders, community members, and historians are owning the narrative and preparing to commemorate this important chapter in Black history the way it deserves.
$30 million in funding will assist the construction of a museum dedicated to “the history of Black Wall Street, the Race Massacre, and the enduring Greenwood spirit” as well as renovation efforts of the Greenwood Cultural Center.
Most important for the public to realize is the reality that survivors built a stronger foundation from its ashes.
Enterprising Black families showed true resilience as the community became “even greater in terms of its economic viability after the massacre," says project director Phil Armstrong.
In October, the project revealed a GoFundMe campaign, giving the public a chance to support their mission from near or far.
Construction will begin in January 2020, with hopes of being completed by May 31, 2021 - just in time to mark the centennial of the massacre itself.