By Rob Shepherd, PostGenre
Memorial day weekend 1921 started just like any other day in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma. One of the wealthiest communities in America, this segment of the city was such an economic powerhouse it would be dubbed “Black Wall Street.” By the end of the weekend, the prosperous region would be turned to rubble. After 19-year-old Dick Rowland, a black shoe shiner was accused of assaulting a white girl, a group of 75 Black men, some armed, arrived to ensure Rowland was not lynched. Upon the group’s arrival, the Sheriff called for calm and persuaded the men to return home. On their way, however, a mob of white men attacked them. A fight ensued and white rioters began to rampage the Black community, burning homes and stores. About 10,000 were left homeless, and property damage amounted to more than $32 million (2019 dollars). Read more here.