In early 1921, the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was home to one of the most affluent African-American communities in the United States. More than 70 businesses, mostly owned by Black Americans, lined up in just the 100 block of Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa. This single block was home to four hotels, two newspapers, eight doctors, seven barbers, nine restaurants and a half-dozen professional offices of real estate agents, dentists and lawyers. The economic success of Black entrepreneurs in Greenwood added to the striking image of Tulsa as America’s Black Wall Street.

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