The Black Wall Street: A History of African American Success

Introduction 

The Black Wall Street documentary discusses about the Tulsa race riot. This was a large-scale war motivated racially that occurred on 31 May and 1 st June in 1921. In this war, the African American community of Tulsa, Oklahoma was attacked by a group of whites. The war is determined as the worst incidents of racial violence that ever occurred in the history of America. The attack caused massive destruction whereby over 35 blocks of the district were damaged, over 800 people dead, and about 6,000 African Americans arrested and detained ( The Blackest Panther, 2016). 

Response 

Though the Black Wall Street seems so simple and more ancient, it brings up more issues surrounding the experiences and suffering of the African Americans in the sense of right and wrong. The massacre is treated and presented as wrong to kill the African American community. In the right sense, despite the damages and deaths of the many African Americans, they were able to rebuild their economy and community again and flourished in the aftermath of the riot. 

This story helps us to understand the current issue of discrimination among African Americans. The depressive past is still haunting the present society where there is a bit of tension between Whites and African Americans. It is evident that the tension between Whites and African Americans began way back in history during the period of Tulsa war. The riot was triggered by the alleged rape of a woman by an African American man. The Whites confronted the African Americans community killing, burning their homes and looting stores among other properties ( The Blackest Panther, 2016). 

Throughout the American history, the events of the Tulsa riot race have remained silence for decades regarding the losses, violence, and terror of the event. The story of the war was largely omitted from the histories of the national, state, and local. This story was rarely mentioned in the history classrooms, books, or even in private areas. Also, as many survivors of the events are increasingly declining, the truth of the events of the Tulsa war will continue to remain a mystery. The silence was initiated because of a lot of shame and guilt ( The Blackest Panther, 2016). 

Many Whites and African Americans who grew into the middle age as well as those in the contemporary society have no knowledge of what really happened during the Tulsa war riot. Lack of understanding of the history has built various assumptions between the relationships between African Americans and the Whites at that era in history. Burying history has made children and other people to make up assumptions without having a clear understanding of the underlying issues being presented in the documentary. 

Many scholars have attempted to retell the story of the Tulsa war in order to provide people with facts, information, and understanding of what really took place and to fill the largely existing silences. Through these efforts, the silences about this story that the community have no idea and understanding about will be addressed and help to clear the assumptions. 

This scenario may be helpful to the people highlighting the negative tendencies of the human beings. The Whites were very mean towards the African Americans. Also, it can help people identify ways of dealing with the destructive stories and how to bring healing to the people. Despite the deep rooted tension existing, it is important for people to learn from the history and move past it in order to create a better future. 

Conclusion 

By watching the documentary, it provides insights on the Tulsa riot war. It helps people to have understanding about some of the issues that actual took place during the event. It provides understanding of the relationship between the Whites and African Americans and the suffering the African Americans have suffered in the hands of the Whites during historical times, which is still being witnessed in the contemporary society. Therefore, the documentary provides a sense of what really happened and this is crucial in understanding of the history and culture. 

Reference 

The Blackest Panther. (2016). Black Wall Street - Full Documentary. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJbF9SGB3Yk