TULSA — There is a new campaign to raise $1 million to rebuild the original Black Wall Street.
In a news conference Thursday, members of the Historic Greenwood Chamber of Commerce announced the launch of the campaign.
Black Wall Street in Tulsa used to be considered one of the most affluent black business districts in the United States. The area housed approximately 600 black owned businesses: 21 churches, 21 restaurants, 30 grocery stores, two movie theaters, six private airplanes, a bank, hospital and school system all located on Black Wall Street.
In what is now called the Tulsa Race Massacre in 1921, mobs of white people murdered an estimated 300 black Tulsans and destroyed black businesses and homes along the way.
READ MORE: 99 years later: The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
Activists including Al Sharpton, actor Hill Harper and Dr. Cornel West and organizations across the nation came together to start the process of restoring the remaining parts of Black Wall Street in the Greenwood District.
Some goals of the project include:
- improving mobility
- ability to walk to and within the district
- enhancing public spaces
To donate to the Black Wall Street Project, please visit gofundme.com/f/restoreblackwallstreett or email theoriginalblackwallstreet@gmail.com.
Watch the full news conference below:
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