2021 Black Wall Street Expo Honors The Spirit of Black Entrepreneurship

By Paige Boyd, Managing Editor

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the race massacre that destroyed the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, also known as "Black Wall Street."

From May 31 through June 1, 1921, in one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American History, a white mob attacked the Greenwood District upon hearsay that a Black shoe shiner attacked a White woman. 35 square blocks, featuring the majority of the Black-owned businesses, were burned to the ground. Over 800 citizens were injured, and anywhere from 75-300 citizens were killed.

What the mob couldn't destroy, however, were the spirit of the district and the lasting legacy it had on Black entrepreneurship.

Now, 100 years later, and as shows like Watchmen and Lovecraft Country sparked renewed interest in "Black Wall Street," that spirit will thrive once more as the Black Wall Street Expo 2.0 kicks off in Oklahoma City on the weekend of October 22. The official event website states that the expo "celebrates cultural diversity and inclusiveness across all races, ethnicities, nationalities, generations, and socioec onomic levels. Black Wall Street Expo 2.0 continually strives for excellence by providing unique events and programs for families and the community, which reflect the changing landscape of Oklahoma and the world."

Highlights for this 3-day festival include seminars, family-friendly events, community workshops, and more. The expo also includes the 2021 Black Wall Street Expo Legacy Awards, honoring local and national entrepreneurs, as well as the vendors village and a concert featuring Cherrelle, Michael Cooper, Keith Washington, and hometown natives, The GAP Band: 2nd Generation.