When white supremacists were not successful in eliminating the individual progress of “uppity blacks,” they resorted to destroying whole communities to return “white supremacy” to the South. One of the most affluent black communities affected by this tactic was an area in Tulsa, Oklahoma known as “Deep Greenwood” or Black Wall Street. On May 31 to June 1, 1921, the area was leveled.
The massacre of Black Wall Street is not mentioned in American history textbooks, so many people do not know this happened. In total, there were 191 businesses and 1,256 homes destroyed, 300 blacks killed and 10,000 left homeless within the thirty-five city blocks known as Black Wall Street.
The “shadow of shame” was compared to European pogroms. The supposed cause was a false criminal assault charge by a white woman, Sarah Page, against a black man, Dick Rowland.