05/02/2026
I had to check with a few people to see if we should prepare to release our Rap CD "All The Truth." It is a collection of songs that tells the stories that much of America tries to pretend never happened.
Here is one of the songs that tells part of the story of a place known as BLACK WALL STREET. The Tulsa Race Massacre (often referred to as the destruction of “Black Wall Street”):
What & Where: In the early 20th century, the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was a prosperous, largely self-sufficient Black community. It was nicknamed “Black Wall Street” due to its many successful Black-owned businesses, banks, hotels, and doctors’ offices.
What Happened (May 31 – June 1, 1921): After a Black man (Dick Rowland) was accused of assaulting a white woman, a white mob gathered outside the courthouse. When Black residents armed themselves to protect him, violence erupted. A white mob—later aided by some National Guardsmen—proceeded to burn, loot, and shoot their way through Greenwood.
Death Toll: Officially 36 deaths were recorded at the time, but later investigations (including the 2001 Oklahoma Commission) estimate the real number was 100–300 Black residents killed.
Destruction: Over 1,200 homes and businesses were burned. 10,000 Black residents were left homeless.
Mass Graves & Unmarked Burials: Witness accounts and modern forensic investigations confirm that many victims were buried in unmarked mass graves (including at Tulsa’s Oaklawn Cemetery and possibly other sites). Bodies were dumped in trenches, some hastily covered, and never properly identified.
Cause: The underlying cause was not simple “jealousy of wealth,” but racial hatred combined with fear of Black economic and political power. White residents and officials resented Greenwood’s success, used a false accusation to incite a mob, and systematically destroyed an entire Black district.
To clarify one point: Greenwood was not “an all-Black city”—it was a predominantly Black neighborhood within the segregated city of Tulsa. The massacre was an act of racist domestic terrorism, not a random act of jealousy.
