Tulsa’s Greenwood

* Your excellent Oct. 23 article on the 1921 race riot in Tulsa, Okla., mentioned that the Greenwood district was sometimes referred to as “the Negro Wall Street” but failed to elaborate. Yes, there were hundreds of lives lost, but the economic loss to generations of African Americans was virtually incalculable. In the 30 blocks that were destroyed by white rioters, there were at least 200 businesses. Among them were two of the finest hotels owned by African Americans in this country; the Welcome Grocery Store, which was on par with any store in Tulsa; the Dreamland Theatre complex, owned by one of the most prominent black women in America; Berry’s bus and airline charter service, two newspaper plants, several real estate firms, a number of mortuaries, numerous law, medical and dental offices and countless smaller businesses.

Until the dawn of the civil rights movement, the destruction of African American businesses by the Ku Klux Klan, nightriders and others was not unusual in the South and elsewhere. Although the black people of Greenwood did rebuild their community, many others did not. Consequently, once-vibrant African American commercial districts fell into decay and many black people lost the entrepreneurial spirit.

LEGRAND H. CLEGG II

Compton