LibGuides: Economics (ECON): Tulsa's Black Wall Street

NEW books in the NCC Library collection!

Requiem for the Massacre: A Black History on the Conflict, Hope & Fallout of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Young, R. J.
Call Number: F 704 .T92 Y68 2022
ISBN: 9781640095021
Publication Date: 2022
More than 100 years ago, the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, perpetrated a massacre against its Black residents. For generations, the true story was ignored, covered up, and diminished by those in power and in a position to preserve the status quo. Blending memoir and immersive journalism, author R. J. Young shows how, today, Tulsa combats its racist past while remaining all too tolerant of racial injustice. This book is a cultural excavation of Tulsa 100 years after one of the worst acts of domestic terrorism in U.S. history. Young focuses on unearthing the narrative surrounding the previously all-Black Greenwood district, while challenging an apocryphal narrative that includes so-called Black Wall Street, Booker T. Washington, and Black exceptionalism. Young provides a firsthand account of the centennial events commemorating Tulsa's darkest day, as the city attempts to reckon with its self-image, commercialization of its atrocity, and the aftermath of the massacre, that shows how things have changed -- and how they have stayed woefully the same.

Books on African American Economic History

African Americans in the U.S. Economy by Conrad, Cecilia.
Call Number: E 185.8 .A34 2005 Print
ISBN: 0742543773
Publication Date: 2005
Topics covered include the rise of the Black industrial working class; civil rights and organized labor; and the dynamics of racial economic inequality.
Milestone Documents in African American History, 2nd edition by Nix, Echol.
Call Number: E 184.6 .M55 2017 Print & Online
ISBN: 9781682175798
Publication Date: 2017
This selection of primary sources includes the article "The Eruption of Tulsa," by Walter F. White, originally published in "The Nation" magazine on July 29, 1921.
Working Americans, 1898-2016: African Americans by Derks, Scott.
Call Number: HD 8066 .D47 V.14 Print & Online
ISBN: 9781682171066
Publication Date: 2016
This collection of profiles of working people includes African American entrepreneurs, Pullman porters, military officers, sharecroppers, athletes, musicians, and many more. Chapters also offer historical perspective on living in cities with large African American populations, such as Harlem (New York), Kansas City, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Memphis, Washington, D.C., and others.

Recommended Films About Greenwood

In the early 1900s, the Greenwood section of Tulsa, Oklahoma was home to a thriving, independent business district dubbed "Black Wall Street," until a racially motivated massacre in 1921 changed the community’s legacy forever. These films recall the prosperous African American community of Greenwood and examine the deadly consequences of racist violence that occurred there.

Hate Crimes in the Heartland -- The white mob rampaging through the wealthy Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma destroyed 35 city blocks, leaving up to 300 people dead and more than 10,000 homeless, all in one night. No one was ever arrested, tried, or convicted of any crime related to these riots. This film compares the 1921 calamity to a 2012 case, in which two white males drove through Greenwood targeting blacks at random, killing three and leaving two others in critical condition. Two suspects were captured, and faced the death penalty for the crime. Both incidents are examined within the context of American culture and race relations. This DVD may be viewed or borrowed at either Mack Library (Bethlehem) or ESSA Library (Monroe). Look for it at call number HV 6773.5 .T85 H38 2016.

African American Community Resilience -- After race riots destroyed Greenwood, residents were determined to rebuild the neighborhood. They went to Kansas for loans and building materials. Were they successful? From the series Black Communities After the Civil War.

Black Economic Movement -- Learn how African American civic groups contributed to vocational training and entrepreneurship in the South during the early 20th century. From the series The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross.

Riot Survivors -- This film profiles J. B. Stradford, who fled to Chicago after being falsely accused of inciting the violence in Tulsa. His great-grandson John Rogers founded Ariel Investments, the largest Black-owned investment firm in America. From the series Boss: The Black Experience in Business.

A Stacked Deck -- This segment of the series Tony Brown's Journal takes a historical look at how Jim Crow laws and racism adversely affected the economic growth of Black communities, including Greenwood.