Greenwood

Greenwood was a thriving freedom colony in Tulsa, Oklahoma—founded and built by Black Americans determined to create a life of dignity, independence, and prosperity. Known as “Black Wall Street,” it became one of the most successful African American business districts in the country by the early 20th century. The community’s success stood as a powerful symbol of Black economic freedom and self-determination in the face of systemic oppression. In 1921, that promise was violently attacked when a white mob destroyed Greenwood in one of the deadliest acts of racial violence in U.S. history. Yet even in the ashes, Greenwood remains a landscape of resilience—its memory rooted in the ongoing fight for justice and the unshakable spirit of a people who dared to build freedom into the land itself.