The original Black Wall Street had 600 black owned businesses.
The black dollar circulated 36 to 100 times in this tight-knit community, according to sfbayview.com. A single dollar might have stayed in Tulsa for almost a year before leaving the Black community. Comparatively in modern times, a dollar can circulate in Asian communities for a month, j3wish communities for 20 days and white communities for 17.
Interesting Things You Didn’t Know About ‘Black Wall Street’
The Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, housed one of the most successful Black economies in American history "Black Wall Street".
This building was black owned
Money Stayed Inside the Community
The dollar circulated 36 to 100 times in this tight-knit community, according to sfbayview.com. A single dollar might have stayed in Tulsa for almost a year before leaving the Black community. Comparatively in modern times, a dollar can circulate in Asian communities for a month, j3wish communities for 20 days and white communities for 17.
People in Tulsa Were Leading in Luxury Possessions
In a time when the entire state of Oklahoma had only two airports, six Black families owned their own planes. The average income for a Black family was well over what minimum wage is today. Dr. Simon Berry, who owned the bus system in Tulsa, recalls that in 1910 his average income was around $500 a day, according to reports from sfbayview.com.
The Creation of Black Wall Street Was Intentional
In 1906, O.W. Gurley, a wealthy African-American from Arkansas, moved to Tulsa and purchased over 40 acres of land that he made sure was only sold to other African-Americans. Gurley also used the area to give refuge to African-Americans running from the harsh oppression of Mississippi.