Page 4 - "52" Magazine Final

History of Black Wall Street

Black W all Str eet

G
reenwood, located on the north side of downtown Tulsa (Oklahoma), was the
most prominent concentrations of African American businesses in the United States.
Dubbed with the name ?Black Wall Street?, this affluent 40-acre economic
development was an effort to circulate cash flow within the black community,
preserving and reinvesting in its own neighborhood of people.

Greenwood developed and successfully
maintained all black-owned luxury shops,
restaurants, grocery stores, a library,
hotels, jewelry and clothing stores, movie
theaters, barbershops and salons, pool
halls, nightclubs and offices for doctors,
attorneys, and dentists. Greenwood also
had its own school system, post office,
bus and taxi service, savings and loan Courtesy: Greenwood Cultural Center
bank, and hospital.
With the belief that blacks would
support other black businesses, pull
their resources together and work
cohesively, the African American
community could prosper.

Courtesy: Greenwood Cultural Center Courtesy: Greenwood Cultural Center

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