Places of Interest in African American History
The Black Wall Street Greenwood District Tulsa, Oklahoma |
The Black Wall Street
Prior to 1905, Tulsa was a small, rural town. Following the oil boom of 1905, the community prospered financially. By the time Oklahoma was admitted in to the Union it led the country in oil production. Wealth from oil wells went mostly to the white owners but some of the money trickled down to blacks. In 1921, the Greenwood section of Tulsa was the business, entertainment, cultural and religious center of African American life for more than 11,000 people.
The racial segregation or “Jim Crow” laws of the time did not allow blacks to shop or live downtown. As a result the black community depended on itself. They established businesses and thrived. Everything they needed could be found in Greenwood. It contained more than 100 businesses, two theaters, a newspaper, two African American schools, drug stores, grocery stores, cleaners, hotels, automobile repair shops, lawyers, a hospital and 15 doctors’ offices. Most of Greenwood’s residents were home owners and 8 to 17 of them were reported to be millionaires.
While on a trip to Tulsa, Booker T. Washington visited the Greenwood district and dubbed it “The Negro Wall Street”. During the Civil Rights era of the 1960’s the name was changed to The Black Wall Street.
President Benjamin Harris opened Oklahoma to new settlements on April 22, 1889. Many of the settlers were Native Americans who along with slaves and freed slaves were forced to leave the southern states. Their journey to Oklahoma was called the “Trail of Tears”.
From the beginning of Oklahoma’s history, African Americans have always been a part of it. They were cowboys, farmers, railroad workers and laborers. Since 1880, there were more than 44 black towns established in Oklahoma. Almost a third of them are still in existence today. By the end of 1890, the black population in Oklahoma was about 3000. By 1900 it was approximately 55,000.
After becoming a state on November 16, 1907, the first bill passed by the Oklahoma Legislature was a “Jim Crow” law segregating the state. Senate Bill 1 known as the “Coach Law” established “separate but equal” accommodations for blacks on all forms of rail transportations including railroads and street cars.
Tulsa had a Ku Klux Klan membership of more than 3000 and it was not long before racial tensions grew. See next entry The Burning and Bombing of Black Wall Street.
PICTURES: Top Row L: Street Sign. The intersection of Archer and Greenwood. Top Row R: Street Sign full view. Second Row L: Dry Goods Store in Red Indian Territory 1890. The teritory later became a part of Oklahoma. Second Row R: Dreamland Movie Theater prior to 1921. Owned by John and Loula Williams. Third Row L: Three-story office building owned by the Williams. It housed doctor's dentists and attorney's offices, an ice cream and confectionary parlor, a rooming house, barbers and realtors. Third Row R: John Williams and family. The first Black family in Tulsa to own an automobile. Fourth Row L: Williams East-End Garage. Fourth Row R: First Greenwood business built by O.W. Gurley and his wife Emma. It housed a rooming house, a grocery store. It was also the first home of the Vernon AME Church. Fifth Row L: Vernon AME Church, founded in 1905 is one of Greenwood's oldest churches. The congregation was in the process of building a new church when the building was burned to the ground during the burning of Tulsa in 1921. Determined to move forward, the congregation used existing funds and donations to rebuild the church's basement on the same site by the end of 1922. The church was completed in 1928 and still stands at the same location. Fifth Row R: Mt. Zion Baptist Church was organized in 1909. It held services in temporary locations before breaking ground for the church at Haskell Street and Elgin Avenue. The congregation raised funds and the church was finished in May of 1921, just two weeks before it was burned down in the in the burning and bombing of Tulsa. Video: Black Wall Street. pt.1.
SUBMITTED: December 29, 2008. Pictures taken December 22, 2008. Black and white pictures courtesy of Greenwood Cultural Center. Map
Your comments.
|
|
The Burning and Bombing of Black Wall Street Greenwood District Tulsa, Oklahoma |
The Burning and Bombing of Black Wall Street On May 30, 1921, a 19 year old black boy named Dick Rowland worked shining shoes in downtown Tulsa. Only one restroom was available for him and other African Americans to use while in the downtown area. It was located on the top floor of the Drexel Building. In order to reach the top floor he had to use the elevator.
Accounts of what happened next differ. It was reported that Dick Rowland stumbled getting on the elevator and brushed against Sarah Page, the white elevator operator. It was also reported that the elevator jolted and that Dick Rowland bumped against Sarah. Regardless of what happened, by the time Dick Rowland got off the elevator, Sarah Page had accused him of assaulting her. Rumors spread in the white community of a white girl being attacked by a black man, Dick Rowland. At about 10:00 am on May 31st, he was arrested and held downtown at the Courthouse pending trial. The local newspaper, The Tulsa Tribune ran a story titled, Nab Negro for Attacking Girl in an Elevator.” The article described Rowland as “Diamond Dick” and told of a poor orphan girl working her way through college as an elevator operator. It said that he tore her clothes and it suggested that he tried to rape her. The article went on to state that her hands and face were scratched but she had neither a scratch nor torn clothes. In fact she was not an orphan. She deserted her husband in Kansas City and was served with divorce papers two months prior to the alleged incident. Sarah Page later changed her story and told police that Dick Rowland accidently bumped against her but by the time she corrected her story it was too late. Another article in the Tribune stated that a mob should gather in front of the courthouse and lynch Dick Rowland. Articles in the Tribune inflamed the white citizens of Tulsa. A crowd of some 400 hundred white men gathered at the Courthouse and there was talk of lynching Dick Rowland. Lynchings in Tulsa were not uncommon and in Oklahoma it was not considered a crime to kill a black man. A few months before the alleged attack of Sarah Page, an accused killer was taken from jail, driven to a tree out in the county and hanged. The procession of cars was estimated to be a mile long. The local police directed traffic. Seventy miles south of Tulsa in Holdenville, a man accused of attacking a white woman was dragged out of jail by a white mob, hanged from a telephone pole and shot numerous times. Word of the growing all white crowd gathering at the Courthouse spread to Greenwood. The black men of the community decided to take a stand and that there would be no lynching. A group of armed black men, some of them World War I veterans, rushed to the Courthouse to ensure Dick Rowland’s safety. They offered to guard the jail but Sheriff Willard McCullough ensured them that Dick Rowland would be safe. The men returned to Greenwood. Hours later the crowd in front of the Courthouse grew to more than 2000 people, many of them armed. Again the armed black men returned to the Courthouse. They were again promised by the Sheriff that Dick Rowland would be safe. As the men left, one of them was confronted by a white man who tried to take his gun. A fight ensued and shots were fired. That altercation began 17 hours of the worst racial violence in the nation against blacks since the Civil War. The sheriff’s department deputized hundreds of white men. The only prerequisite was that they be white. Most of them weren’t even asked their name and address. Once deputized, the white men began shooting any African American that they saw downtown. Black men, women and children tried to run to safety but to no avail as they were met on all sides by gun fire. They were killed in great numbers as they ran. The mob of white men began burning the homes and businesses of Greenwood at about 1:00 a.m. on June 1st. They marched into the north side of downtown and shot every person they found. They burned every home and every business but not before looting it first. Large trucks were used to take pianos, furniture and other valuables left behind by the families. They loaded up everything movable and of value. At the time of the attack, the violence against the Greenwood community had little to do with avenging the alleged assault of Sarah Page. Its purpose was to send a message to blacks that they will not be allowed to prosper and that any attempt at success will be met with harsh consequences. The white mob did not allow fireman to battle the fires nor did they allow ambulances to treat or transport wounded blacks. Telephone and telegraph lines were cut and the railroad leading into Tulsa was blocked. There was no way of communicating with the outside world. On June 1st, at the break of dawn, more than a dozen planes went up and began to drop turpentine bombs, (Malakoff Cocktails) on the homes of black residents while whites with machine guns and other deadly weapons fired upon them from all directions. A black man who did not believe that the white mob would kill a veteran, put on his uniform and stood in front of his home. As the mob approached, they shot him and burned his home down. Governor, James B. A. Robinson called out the National Guard and placed the area under martial law. Black men were gathered up at gun point and placed in detention camps. Before the day was over, every black person was killed, wounded, arrested or placed in confinement. In the days following the mob attack on Greenwood, Tulsa’s white businesses experienced an economic slow-down. A large part of the city’s labor force had been shut out. After several days, the men were released but were not allowed on the streets unless they wore a badge authorized by their white employer and a city official. Many cities across the country offered assistance but were turned down. Tulsa city officials stated that they could handle the problem themselves. More than 1200 homes were destroyed. Over 4000 people were left homeless and over 1000 spent the harsh winter in tents.
Few Tulsans had insurance. The ones who did were denied their clams. Charges against Dick Rowland were dismissed and no one was ever imprisoned for the burning of Greenwood, The black Wall Street.
Princetta Newman, tour guide and direct descendant of Greenwood resident John Allen Cloman, took me on a tour of the Greenwood section of Tulsa, OK, also known as the Black Wall Street. I saw many historical places and met several residents of Tulsa. Princetta made the tour more than just a historical discoverer. Her encyclopedic knowledge of the area made the tour more like a step back in history to a time when the black community of Greenwood thrived. Black Wall Street Tour. Princetta R. Newman, The Voice of Black Wall Street, 322 North Greenwood, Tulsa, OK. 74120: Phone: 918-955-2689. Tour taken by Percy White, owner of FindFamilyRoots.com.
PICTURES: Top L: Greenwood burning. Top R: The aftermath. Second Row: White mob with guns participating in the destruction of Greenwood. Third Row: Black men being detained. Fourth Row: Black man killed during mob attack. Fifth Row L: Black man killed in the street. Fifth Row R: The body of a burned black man. Sixth Row: The area believed to be used as a mass grave sites. Video: Black Wall Street, pt. 2 SUBMITTED: December 29, 2008. Color pictures taken December 22, 2008. Black and white pictures courtesy of Greenwood Cultural Center. Map
Your comments.
|
|
Edmund Pettus Bridge Selma, Alabama |
Bloody Sunday. On March 7, 1965, approximately 600 African Americans marching for civil rights were beaten and had dogs set on them by state and local police as they attempted to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Led by John Lewis (SNCC) and Hosea Williams (SCLC) people in the march were met by police with blackjacks, dogs and tear gas. Many of the officers were on horseback. As the marchers reached the end of the bridge, they were told by the police to turn around and go back to the church. The marchers did not move. When they were told again to turn around and go back, the police unleashed their violence on the crowd. They beat and harass the marchers back across the bridge. Approximately 16 marchers were hospitalized and another 50 received emergency medical treatment.
PICTURES: L: South view of bridge. R: View of bridge on Bloody Sunday. Video: Bridge to Freedom 1965 - Pt 3 of 6, Eyes on the Prize. SUBMITTED: April 29, 2008 and August 14, 2008. Picture taken December 29, 2006, updated December 25, 2008. Map
Your comments.
|
|
Alfred D. Price Funeral Establishment 212 East Leigh Street Richmond, VA 23219 804-648-8361 |
Written on the Alfred D. Price History Marker in front of the parking lot are the words: Born into slavery in Hanover County in 1860, Alfred D. “A.D." Price moved to Richmond in the late 1870’s. Soon after coming to Richmond, he set up a blacksmith shop, which expanded into a livery stable and the funeral home that stands here now known as A.D. Price Funeral Establishment. In August 1894, Price became one of the first funeral directors in Virginia to receive a state embalming license. He served as its president from 1905 until his death on 9 April 1921.
PICTURES: L: A.D. Price Funeral Establishment. R: Close up Funeral Establishment. SUBMITTED: September 21, 2008. Pictures taken September 19, 2008. Map
|
|
Franklin and Armfield Dealers in Slaves 1315 Duke Street Alexandria, VA 22314 703-836-2858
Isaac Franklin May 26, 1789 to April 27,1846 John Armfield 1797 to 1871 |
Housed in this building is a slave museum and the Northern Virginia Urban League. Written on the Franklin and Armfield History Marker in front of the building are the words: Isaac Franklin and John Armfield leased this brick building with access to the wharves and docks in 1828 as a holding pen for enslaved people being shipped from Northern Virginia to Louisiana. They purchased the building and three lots in 1832. From this location Armfield bought bondspeople at low prices and shipped them south to his partner Franklin in Natchez, Mississippi and New Orleans, Louisiana, to be sold at higher prices. By the 1830’s they often sold 1000 people annually, operating as one of the largest slave-trading companies in the United States until 1836. Slave traders continuously owned the property until 1861. Department of Historic Resources.
PICTURES: Top L: Building that housed slaves while waiting to be sold. Top R: Sign in front of building indicating historical significance. Second Row L: Sign in basement describing bars on the wall. Second Row R: Original bars on the wall in the basement used to stop slaves from escaping. Bottom L and R: Museum displays. INTERNED: Isaac Franklin - Mount Olive Cemetery, 1101 Lebanon Road, Nashville, Tennessee 37210. Phone: 615-255-4193. John Armfield -Private cemetery on Armfield Road, Beerheeba Springs, TN 37305. SUBMITTED: June 7, 2008. Pictures taken June 7, 2008. Manifest of slave ship Brig Tribune leaving the port of Alexandria going to Natchez, Mississippi via Norfolk and New Orleans. Copied from a display in the museum. Map
|
|
Howard Theatre
620 T Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 |
Located in the historic Shaw neighborhood, Howard Theatre showcased the country’s newest, best and most famous black artists. Jim Crow laws and culture did not allow black artists to play at the “white only” downtown theatres. As a result, a string of entertainment venues throughout the east and south, known as the Chitlin' Circuit was created to give black audiences a place to see black performers. Included in the Chitlin Circuit was Howard Theatre the oldest in the circuit, Royal Theatre in Baltimore, Apollo Theatre in Harlem, Uptown Theatre in Philadelphia and the Regal in Chicago. The 1200 seat venue with its balcony and dressing rooms for 100 performers, opened August 22, 1910. From its debut until early 1930, mostly road shows, musicals, vaudeville acts and circuses were booked. The theatre closed after the stock market crash of 1929. In 1930, the Stiefel brothers purchased the property and hired Shepard Allen to manage the theatre. Through the 1940’s he brought in the best black acts from around the country like native Washingtonian Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Billy Eckstein. Other great performers who played at the theatre during the 40’s include Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington, Lena Horn and Lionel Hampton. By the 1950’s, through the 1960’s, young adults and teenagers made up the majority of the audiences. They came to see rock n roll and blues artists like James Brown, Johnny Mathis, Pattie La Belle and the Bluebelles, Jackie Wilson, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles and the Temptations. Interest in the theatre declined in the late 1960’s in part due to desegregation, the 1968 riots and an increase in crime in the neighborhood. The doors closed in 1970. However, Howard Theatre is currently being refurbished. See HowardTheatre.org.
PICTURES: Top Row: Howard Theatre circa 1915. Man pictured believed to be Andrew Thomas, theatre manager for several years after 1910. Second Row L: Howard Theatre December 2008. Second Row R: Sign in front of theatre. Third Row: Duke Ellington celebrating 20 year anniversary of his band. Picture appeared in an April 1, 1942 edition of a periodical. Bottom Row L and R: Examples of how theatre patrons dressed during the 40's and 50's.
SUBMITTED: February 17, 2010. Color pictures taken December 13, 2008.
|
|
Robert Robinson Library 638 North Alfred Street Alexandria, VA 22314 (703) 838-4356 |
Written on the plaque in front of the building are the words: In the summer of 1939, Attorney Samuel W. Tucker organized six youth William Evans, Otto Tucker, Edward Gaddis, Morris Murray, Clarence Strange and Robert Strange for a “sit in” at the Alexandria Public Library, protesting the denial of access to the African American community. The August 21, 1939, “sit in” is believed to have been the earliest in America. The arrest of five of these young men and their court case pleaded by Tucker, resulted in a separate facility for African Americans being built here at 638 North Alfred Street, the present location of the Alexandria Black History Resource Center. The library is named after the reverend Robert Robinson, a 19th century minister at Roberts Chapel M.E. Church in the 600 block of S. Washington Street. With Mrs. Evelyn Roper Beam as the first librarian, the Robert Robinson Library opened its doors to the African American community on April 24, 1940.
PICTURED: Alexandria Black History Museum. SUBMITTED: October 17, 2008. Picture taken June 7, 2008. Map
Your comments.
|
|
U.S. National Slavery Museum Spirit of Freedom Garden Carl D. Silver Parkway Fredericksburg, VA 22401 540-548-8818 |
U.S. National Slavery Museum, Spirit of Freedom Garden
PICTURES: Top Center: Sign at the entrance. Second Row L: Wood carvings. Second Row R: Center of garden. Third Row L: Hallelujah Sculptor by Ken Smith of Stauton, VA. Third Row R: Entrance to garden. SUBMITTED: November 23, 2008. Pictures taken November 22, 2008. Map
Your comments.
|
|
Led by reverends Martin Luther King, Jr. and Fred Shuttlesworth of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, boycotts and protests of 1963 in Birmingham were centered in Kelly Ingram Park. During the first week of May 1963, Birmingham police and firemen attacked civil rights demonstrators, many of whom were children in the streets bordering the park. It was here that Birmingham police and firemen, under orders from Public Safety Commissioner Eugene "Bull" Conner, confronted demonstrators, first with mass arrests and then with police dogs and fire hoses. Images from those confrontations were broadcast nationwide and began a public outcry which turned the nation's attention to the struggle for freedom and racial equality. The demonstrations in Birmingham forced city leaders to agree to end public segregation. In addition, they helped ensure the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Civil Rights laws.
PICTURES: Top L: Statue of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Top R: Base of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. statue. Second Row L: Statue of dog attacking child. Second Row R: Base of statue of dog attacking child. Third Row L: Statue of children in jail. Third Row R: Statues representing children in jail. Fourth Row L: Monument to children being hosed by fireman. Fourth Row R: Reverse side of monument to children being hosed by fireman. Video: Bull Connor. SUBMITTED: September 13, 2008. Pictures taken December 29, 2006. Map
Your comments.
|
|
The Rosewood Massacre The following information is written in the Rosewood, Florida Historical Marker: Racial violence erupted in the small and quiet Rosewood community January 1-7, 1923. Rosewood, a predominantly colored community, was home to the Bradley, Carrier, Carter, Goins and Hall families, among others. Residents supported a school taught by Mahulda “Gussie” Brown Carrier, three churches, and a Masonic lodge. Many of them owned their homes, some were business owners and others worked in nearby Sumner and at the Cummer Lumber Mill. This quiet life came to an end on January 1, 1923, when a white Sumner woman accused a black man of assaulting her. In the search for her alleged attacker, whites terrorized and killed Rosewood residents. In the days of fear and violence that followed, many Rosewood citizens sought refuge in the nearby woods. White merchant John M. Wright and other courageous whites sheltered some of the fleeing men, women and children. Whites burned Rosewood and looted livestock and property; two were killed while attacking a home. Five blacks also lost their lives: Sam Carter, who was tortured for information and shot to death on January 1: Sarah Carrier: Lexie Gordon; James Carrier; and Mingo Williams. Those who survived were forever scarred. Haunted by what had happened, Rosewood residents took a vow of silence, lived in fear and never returned to claim their property. That silence was broken seventy-one years later. In 1994 survivors, including Minnie Lee Langley, Arnett Turner Goins and Wilson Hall, filed a claims bill in Florida Legislature. A Special Master, an expert appointed by the speaker of the House, ruled that the state had a “moral obligation” to compensate survivors for the loss of property, violation of constitutional rights, and mental anguish. On May 4, 1994, Governor Lawton Chiles signed a 2.1 million compensation bill. Nine survivors received $150,000 each for mental anguish, and a state university scholarship fund was established for families of Rosewood and their descendants. A fund was also established to compensate those Rosewood families who could demonstrate loss. This Historical marker was dedicated by Governor Jeb Bush in May, 2004. A Florida Heritage Landmark Sponsored by the Real Rosewood Foundation. Inc. and the Florida Department of State.
PICTURES: Top L: Lizzie PRB Jenkins, direct descendant of Rosewood resident Mahulda “Gussie” Brown Carrier pictured next to Rosewood Historical Marker. It was through Ms. Jenkins' research, determination and knowledge of local history as well as the cooperation of former Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, that the Rosewood Historical Marker was erected. Top R: Rosewood road sign. Notice the bullet holes in the top middle section of the sign. Second and Third Row: The former home of store owner John Wright. Fourth Row: Home of the former Sheriff of Rosewood, Bob Ellis Walker. Fifth Row L: Walker Family grave plot. Fifth Row R: Graves of Bob Walker and his wife. SUBMITTED: December 26, 2009. Pictures taken December 23, 2009. Map
Your comments.
|
|
Slave Auction Block Located at the coner of Williams and Charles Streets Fredericksburg, Virginia |
Slave auction block used to sell slaves, livestock and other property prior to the Civil War in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
PICTURES: Left: Close up of plaque. Right: Slave auction block. SUBMITTED: April 19, 2009. Pictures taken April 18, 2009. Map
|
|
Stax Museum of American Soul Music 926 E. McLemore Avenue Memphis, TN 38106
901-946-2535 |
Written on the Stax History Marker in front of the building are the words: On this site stood Stax Records Inc. which boasted such stars as Otis Redding, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, Albert King, the Bar-Kays and many others. It relied upon its deep soul roots to carry it through, struggling from a back street garage in 1957 to become a multi-million dollar organization.
PICTURED: Stax Museum of American Soul Music. 926 E. McLemore Avenue, Memphis, TN 38106, 901-946-2535. SUBMITTED: July 17, 2008. Pictures taken December 28, 2005. Map
|
|
United States Capitol NW, Washington, DC |
In 1791, the son of a former slave, Benjamin Banneker along with Andrew Ellicott surveyed the new federal district. The City of Washington in the District of Columbia was made up of farms plantations, villages, a small tobacco port of Georgetown, areas in Maryland and the larger port of Alexandria.
Documents at the National Archives covering the period of 1794-1800, indicated that slaves were rented out by their owners at a cost of about $60 to $70.00 per year to cut wood, move stones and various other construction duties.
Atop the Capitol stands the statue Freedom, a female figure wearing flowing draperies. Made by the Italian sculpture Thomas Crawford and designed originally wearing a liberty cap, the symbol of freed slaves, Secretary of War Jefferson Davis objected to the depiction and suggested that the cap be changed to a helmet. Thomas followed Jefferson’s instructions and changed the cap to an eagle’s head, feathers and talons.
The Freedom statue was cast in plaster at Clark Mills foundry in the District of Columbia in 1859. The plaster statue had to be separated into five sections and one of the craftsman demanded more money for the job. Mills called upon one of his slaves, Phillip Reid to separate the various sections. He then cast the sections in bronze. The statue stands 19 feet 6 inches tall and weighs approximately 15,000 pounds.
PICTURES: Top Row L: Freedom Statue atop the US Capitol. Top Row R: Freedom Statue atop the US Capitol close up. Second Row: US Capitol. SUBMITTED: January 17, 2009. Pictures taken December 17, 2009. Map
|
|
1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom August 28, 1963 |
In 1963 more than 250,000 people peacefully demonstrated in Washington, DC for the racial and economic equality of African Americans. Speakers included: A. Phillip Randolph, John Lewis, Whitney M. Young Jr., Rabbi Joachim Prinz, Floyd McKissic for James Farmer, Roy Wilkens and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The March on Washington culminated in Dr. King's "I Have A Dream" speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He stated, "America has given the negro people a bad check which has come back marked insufficient funds. But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt."
PICTURES: L: 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. R: The Washington Monument. SUBMITTED: August 28, 2008. Picture taken August 28, 2008. Map
Your comments.
|
|
All pictures taken and submitted by Percy White unless otherwise indicated. African American History, African American Culture, African American Churches, African American Cemeteries, African American Schools, Places of Interest in African American History |