99 YEARS AGO NEVER FORGET, BLACK WALL ST: a thread

This is the story of the most successful black community in American history, and simultaneously the story of “one of the worst incidents of racial violence” that they convienetly forget to tell you in white history class

Once upon a time, there was a district in Tulsa, Oklahoma called the Greenwood District. Oh baby it was reaaal jazzy! Not a mayo menace in sight for almost 40 blocks. It was self sufficient and self sustaining without the assistance of yt folk. The black dollar THRIVED here.

But unfortunately, in the great words of our somewhat problematic and never on time auntie, Lauryn Hill, “how sad all things come to an end...” (‘The Sweetest Thing’ you know what album )

99 YEARS AGO TODAY (the irony) a young black man named Dick Rowland was charged with assaulting a Karen in her natural habitat (charges were later dropped). The alabaster boys became enraged and mobbed up like the “very fine people” they were.

Per usual, “As the suspect was held in a courthouse cell, a large crowd gathered outside, leading to ARMED confrontation and LOOTING.” (NYT) Mind you, this is the yt folk doing the looting so sit down miss mamas, you been had ya girl scout badge in the lootery

Fearing that Rowland would be lynched as a result of the accusations, a group of black men (a good deal of them WWI veterans) mobilized in an effort to help the Sheriff fend off these aforementioned very fine people. The sheriff of course declines.

And the black men who were there were soon outnumbered by roughly 15 to 1. Amidst the lootery and bafoonery a gun shot goes off (shocker) and the men begin to retreat to their previously uncontaminated BLACK neighborhood of Greenwood.

“At dawn, a force of ‘citizens, police and members of the National Guard,’ numbering perhaps 1,500 ... move under orders to take into protective custody UNARMED blacks and to subdue any who resisted. To people in Greenwood, it looked more like an invading army.” Sound familiar?

Upon arrival, the *racist* yt folk do what the *racist* yt folk have always done. “Lurid flames roared and belched and licked their forked tongues into the air. Smoke ascended the sky in thick, black volumes“ (Smithsonian)

Without reason or warning, black women and children were gathered and urged to leave while some of the men laid their life on the line to protect their realizations of the very dream America claims to foster.

(That’s a little bigger sacrifice than not being able to go to Target to getcha lamps, huh Karen?)

Over the next several hours, armed yt folks (KKK, Police, National Guard, some good ol boys deputized by officials and given weapons, drunk Jethros... basically all’em) did what they did best, bombed, pillaged, looted, and killed til the break of dawn.

“The police disregarded due process, arresting blacks and interning them in detention camps; meanwhile, no whites were arrested during the riot.
Both politicians and the media falsely framed the Tulsa riot as an uprising started by lawless blacks.”

whew, deja vu???

In total, around 1,300 houses were destroyed, 300+ black men, women and children were killed, 800+ were injured and a community was destroyed and sold two days later for pennies on the dollar to industrally expand Tulsa (there was a huge oil boom in/near Greenwood)

I say all of this to say:

Was this about our friend Dick Rowland? Nah. It was about black people getting a foothold in society, realizing they had everything they needed already. That was, AND IS threatening to the white establishments of supremacy and capitalism.

So don’t let them deter you from your preferred method of protesting because afterall, we learned from the master

The story of the Negro in America, is the story of America, baby.

we’ve sat, we’ve marched, we’ve kneeled, we’ve boycotted....

my hypothesis is: we’re only trying to do what we’ve seen work... for you...

it’s the American way, right? give me liberty or give me de- nvm...

i won’t be explaining anything in this thread, here art thou receipts

releasing something via @worksbyremo soon proceeds go to @reclaimtheblock

https://daily.jstor.org/the-devastation-of-black-wall-street/

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/long-lost-manuscript-contains-searing-eyewitness-account-tulsa-race-massacre-1921-180959251/

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2019/10/21/arts/television/watchmen-tulsa-race-riot.amp.html

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.history.com/.amp/topics/roaring-twenties/tulsa-race-massacre

YT Video: