Weekend festival in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood celebrates Black Wall Street

CHICAGO (WLS) — A competition in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood Saturday pays homage to Black Wall Avenue.

“I need to deliver the entire essence of Black Wall Avenue again to the neighborhood,” mentioned organizer Carlas Prince Gilbert, who owns Prince Realty Group.

The Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was one of the affluent Black communities within the nation. It was dubbed the Black Wall Avenue of America.

Nevertheless, the neighborhood was destroyed by a mob of white vigilantes throughout the Tulsa Race Bloodbath in 1921.

Tulsa Race Bloodbath: Story behind Black Wall Avenue, racist mob that burned it to the bottom

“There was over 600 Black-owned enterprise that had been very profitable,” Prince Gilbert mentioned.

She mentioned the competition will showcase that historical past and likewise spotlight a time when Black neighborhoods in Chicago had been extra self-sustaining.

Longtime Woodlawn resident, Jeane Clark, remembers when the neighborhood was residence to many Black-owned companies.

“What you do is you’re taking your Black greenback I give it to the shop proper right here. That greenback circulates by means of the entire Black neighborhood. It continues to construct wealth,” she mentioned.

The competition will function historians. Prince Gilbert additionally invited 40 Black enterprise homeowners to speak about their providers.

“Our objective is for the youth to see what is feasible for them,” she mentioned.

The competition may even be a celebration of Black historical past and tradition.

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Musician Ken Cooper will probably be enjoying a group of Louis Armstrong songs.

“The blues, the jazz, the gospel, all that is us. And if we do not educate you and people youngsters, will probably be gone,” he mentioned.

Black Wall Avenue runs 12 p.m. to eight p.m. Saturday alongside 61st Avenue from Vernon to Champlain.

“Now we have lots for everybody to return to,however the largest takeaway is I need folks to grasp the way it vital Black Wall Avenue was to the Black neighborhood,” Prince Gilbert mentioned.

The competition is free. To register, click on right here.