Greenwood District | Black Wall Street, Destruction and Rebuilding
Hall of Records · Chamber of Knowledge
Greenwood developed into a nationally known Black business and residential district often called Black Wall Street.
Record Overview
The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre destroyed much of the neighborhood, but residents rebuilt in the following years.
Documented Record
Later highway construction, urban renewal, and redevelopment created additional displacement.
Why This Record Matters
The record preserves Greenwood as a community of enterprise and rebuilding, not only as the site of a massacre.
Record Timeline
- Early 1900s: Black residents and entrepreneurs build Greenwood.
- 1921: The district is attacked and burned.
- 1920s–1940s: Residents rebuild homes and businesses.
- Late twentieth century–present: Highways, redevelopment, memorialization, and land conflict reshape the area.
Living Archive
- Which surviving businesses and families can be traced across generations?
- How much land was lost through public policy?
- Who controls current development and tourism?
Sources and Image
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons file: Greenwood Neighborhood 7-2025 Wikipedia.jpg. Review the file page for creator, attribution, and license.
Image-use note: Confirm the Wikimedia Commons file-page license, attribution, and personality-rights requirements before publication.
Image note: Recovered documentary/archival image. Review source-page attribution and reuse rights before publication.
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