AMERICA'S BLACK WALL STREET
THE UNTOLD STORY OF BROKEN TREATIES, BLACK RESISTANCE, POLITICAL FEAR AND SACRED GROUND.
By Chief Egunwale Amusan
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America's Black Wall Street goes beyond the usual account of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and the destruction of Black Wall Street. Amusan provides a historical and political context, a brilliant, yet overlooked explanation for this massacre and others across the United States. He takes us back to the Indian Territory, the settlement of the Five Civilized Tribes, the political and financial conflict between the tribes, their freedman, black resistance, and political strides.
Amusan proclaims "the biggest fear of white supremacists is Black political independence and domination." He makes a connection with the historic roadblocks for Black voters as the present day efforts to suppress the Black vote. His conclusions based on his research support a deliberate campaign to destroy Black Wall Street and the Greenwood community, the financial threat it posed, and the threat of successful participation of Black citizens in the political process. America's Black Wall Street: The Untold Story of Broken Treaties, Black Resistance, Political Fear, and Sacred Ground is a must read for those seeking a thorough understanding of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and the destruction of Black Wall Street.
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Praise for America's Black Wall Street:
“America’s Black Wall Street is a well-written and well-documented book. Chief Amusan goes beyond the usual account of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and the destruction of Black Wall Street. His descriptions are vivid and his narrative is compelling. He provides an historical and political context, a brilliant, yet overlooked explanation for the 1921 Tulsa massacre and others across the United States. I highly recommend this book.” Vivian Clark-Adams, Ph.D. Member, the original Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921
"As both a descendent and activist, Chief Amusan's mixture of personal experience and rigorous research has culminated in a fresh new take on what led to the Tulsa 1921 Massacre. Chief Amusan's book is courageous, passionate, and enlightening. America's Black Wall Street may be the most significant read of the present time as it analyzes the power dynamics and political positions of African-Americans throughout Oklahoma, and specifically Greenwood. This is what sets this book apart from all others in the cannon." Damario Solomon-Simmons Esq., M.Ed., National Civil Rights Attorney
“With scholarly detail, Chief Egunwale Amusan unpacks the brutal violence against Black prosperity and political freedom in Greenwood, and connects those events to ongoing government failure to acknowledge and honor the victims and provide reparative justice. America’s Black Wall Street illuminates a once-ignored, deadly attack on Black success, while also demanding present-day accountability." Christian D. Menefee, County Attorney, Harris County, Texas
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America’s Black Wall Street is an extensively documented work that reveals the historical and political context of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and provides a brilliant, but overlooked explanation for the disaster. The book’s author, Chief Egunwale Amusan, graduated from Tulsa's Booker T. Washington High in 1985 and grew up in a Tulsa in which the 1921 Massacre had largely been wiped from public memory. After the catastrophe, a great forgetting ensued. The race war was not taught in public schools until recent times. Amusan’s discovery of the massacre plunged him into a study of the past, where he learned that his own ancestors had been victimized. Other results of Amusan’s passionate pursuit of unrevealed history flow into America’s Black Wall Street, including the plight of the post-Civil War Oklahoma Freedmen, the term still used to describe former slaves of the Five Civilized Tribes. The book journeys through present efforts to reclaim the past through the author’s The Black Wall Street Tour, the campaign to locate buried massacre victims, and
the larger appeal for simple justice and recompense for damages. The book climaxes in a day of drama, with Amusan’s appearance before Congress alongside the last three surviving massacre victims. The writing style unfolds with grace and compassion, in stark and uplifting contrast to the dark and ugly history that haunts many pages. It is a riveting book.
Randy Hopkins, History Consultant, Portland State University
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Truth-telling at its finest, America’s Black Wall Street leaves no stones unturned and no crumbs left on the plate. As a descendant and history recovery specialist, Chief Amusan unveils the true story of what really happened to Greenwood, unlike no other previous stories told. Instead of continuing with the narrative, breadcrumbed by those who benefit from revising our Black American history, it is clear that Chief took the time to dissect the people, the place, and the politics, revealing a story that’s so shocking that it lends a hand to the saying, “Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.” Tricia Woodgett, MBA, TigerEye Films
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"America's Black Wall Street" by my brother Chief Egunwale Amusan honors the people who did well in Tulsa's Greenwood neighborhood before the terrible events of 1921. Chief Amusan skillfully weaves his family's ties to this history into the story, making readers feel like they have a personal link to what happened. There are personal stories and facts about the past that come together to tell readers that this is not just history, but a living legacy that affects present-day descendants and their communities. Amusan shows how important it is to remember those who have suffered and those who have thrived by talking about his family's experiences. The fact that my grandpa, Raymond Beard Sr., and other people who were affected by the massacre are being remembered is a powerful reminder of how strong and resilient Black Wall Street was.
Erica Beard, Descendant of Raymond Beard Sr. - Tulsa, Oklahoma native
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Your writing and historical tourism work surrounding the massacre of Black Wall Street is profound. You raised new questions that sharpened the political focus on this U.S. homegrown terrorist attack. This concise exegesis literally and figuratively digs out the root causes that led up to this infamous event. It is clear that long-held secrets hidden from view travelelled through your bloodline to be revealed to the world. To read your book is to walk in the footsteps of the mightly ones who erected this tight knit powerful community. Your writing is a first hand account as whispered and researched through your oral history. It is a story few others lived to tell. Your story should be considered an historically archived landmark of the experiences they tried to deny. This book should be required reading in classrooms around the country. Thank you for standing in your truth for the benefit of humanity. This truth though crushed to earth rises to the surface through your pose. Foreward ever...
Nzingha Nommo, Owner Afriware Books, Co
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136 pages. ©2023. Published by The Real Black Wall Street Tour, LLC. All rights reserved.