TCC Hosts Series On History Of The Greenwood District: ‘This Is A Place Of Promise’

A three-day, in-depth series is investigating all aspects of historic Greenwood, from Black Wall Street, to the 1921 Race Massacre, and to present day.

The Tulsa Community College virtual event includes presentations from scholars and historians. TCC said this is part of its year-long commitment to remember the Tulsa race massacre.

Wednesday kicked off three straight days of virtual discussions on the Greenwood district and its history.

The series focuses not only on the massacre itself, but also a lot more such as the district's beginnings, the people who lived there, and what happened after the 1920s.

Wednesday’s topic was called Greenwood Rising, where scholars and historians discussed the area's origins and how thousands of African Americans first settled in the district before Tulsa became a city.

They also discussed Black Wall Street and its major economic growth.

"Once the Black people moved into the Greenwood area, they immediately started building a community,” said Jimmie White, a historian on the panel. “It wasn't a transient community where they're just coming in, doing a job for a short period of time and move on. They recognized this is a place of promise."

Thursday’s topic will be about the churches of Greenwood.

To register, send an email to inclusionprogram@tulsacc.edu