The Black Wall Street

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This article is about the business district. For the record label, see The Black Wall Street Records

The Black Wall Street, originally known as the Negro's Wall Street, is a term, reportedly coined by Booker T. Washington, to describe the segregated black business district on the south end of Greenwood Avenue in Greenwood, Tulsa, Oklahoma during the early 1900s. It was a prosperous area, made so partly by the segregation laws in effect at the time which restricted African Americans from spending their money in white areas. The area reportedly used "black dollars" instead of U.S. currency to do business inside the district.

On June 1, 1921 the Greenwood district was reduced to rubble after a large-scale civil unrest known as the Tulsa Race Riot.

[edit] Legacy

Recently, "The Black Wall Street" has received recognition when rapper The Game named his record label The Black Wall Street Records saying he wants to bring back the spirit of the original.

Taking the first letter of the three major thoroughfares of Black Wall Street (Greenwood, Archer, and Pine) the legendary soul singers, The Gap Band also commemorated the Black Wall Street in adopting their moniker. The band members are natives of Greenwood.