Why I Developed Black Towns
In a 2021 New York Times essay , Tom Hanks wrote that despite his lifelong interest in American history, he did not learn about the Tulsa Race Massacre until much later in life. He argued that leaving such events out of our shared history is more than an educational failure—it is a missed opportunity to become a wiser, stronger nation with a fuller understanding of its past. I agree. Many Americans now know something about Greenwood, the prosperous Black community in Tulsa that was devastated by a white mob in 1921. But it is easy to assume that Greenwood—often called “Black Wall Street”—was unique. It was not. After the Civil War, formerly enslaved people established Black towns and settlements throughout the South and beyond. Starting with little more than their freedom, courage and determination, they acquired land, built homes, opened businesses, founded schools and churches, and created vibrant, self-sufficient communities. Consider Charles Clark, a man born into slavery wh...