Seattle organization honors lives of slain Black entrepreneurs in observance of Memorial Day

Seattle organization honors lives of slain Black entrepreneurs in observance of Memorial Day

May 31 marks 102 years since Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma was destroyed by the hands of a violent white mob. On this Memorial Day, Africatown Community Land Trust honored the legacy of the prosperous neighborhood by showcasing local Black entrepreneurship.

SEATTLE - May 31 marks 102 years since Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma was destroyed by the hands of a violent white mob. On this Memorial Day, Africatown Community Land Trust honored the legacy of the prosperous neighborhood by showcasing local Black entrepreneurship.

"Projecting the future that we want to see. So, if we can bring these businesses on one day, then we can see them being here every day in the future," said K.Wyking Garrett, president and CEO of Africatown Community Land Trust.

Africatown hosted its annual Black Wall Street fair in the Central District. It was a day to remember the culture and people that made Seattle’s historically Black neighborhood.

"The Central District looked like this every day once upon a time. So it’s great to see it’s all come back to the place where it all started," said Nykeesha Griffin, owner of the UNgentrified Brand.

In the 1970s, the Central District’s population was more than 70% Black. Due to gentrification, redlining, lack of access to capital and other discriminatory actions, the population dwindled. Today, it’s around 15%.

"This is event also about pushing for the policies that will allow for Black businesses to thrive and have a very intentional investment and to address the barriers and obstacles that have been systematically placed before Black entrepreneurs for many years," said Garrett.

More than 100 local Black-owned businesses paid homage to their history in the city and the history of the nation’s first Black Wall Street in Tulsa. It inspired communities across the U.S., like Seattle, to invest in Black entrepreneurship

"It shows how powerful Black people are," said Aiyanna Clark, a student visiting from Bainbridge Island.

"We’re providing to the world our culture and being able to share and appreciate other cultures and having people appreciate our culture," said Justice Brown, a student visiting from Bainbridge Island.

Tulsa’s Black Wall Street perished in 1921 at the hands of a violent mob of white people. Hundreds of lives were lost, more than 1,200 homes were destroyed, every business was burned, and history of its success was erased for decades.

Though a massacre of its kind has not been repeated, people born and raised in the Central District said they see the neighborhood’s culture being wiped away.

"It hurts. It hurts when we don’t feel welcomed in the community that we were born and raised in. That’s the part for me. I understand change is change, it will happen, but we want to feel welcomed. We have a place here," said Griffin, a Central District native. "There’s beautiful change that’s happening. We want that, we embrace it. But we all need to be part of this community."

Elijah Lewis was a member of Africatown Community Land Trust and was an organizer for the annual event. In April 2023, Lewis was shot and killed in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood while in his car driving his nephew from a Monster Truck Jam event at Lumen Field. Lewis’ nephew survived a gunshot wound to the leg.

As the community remembered the hundreds of lives killed during the Tulsa Race Massacre, they also honored Lewis who dedicated his life to promoting Black excellence in Seattle.

"One of greatest young lights and emergent leaders in this city, in the state and I would say in this country, Elijah L. Lewis," said Garrett. "He was a serial entrepreneur himself and represented everything that this event represents in terms of bringing the past and honoring the legacy by making things happen in this day and time." 

The Black Wall Street fair kicked of Africatown’s "Summer of Soul." The organization will host a series of events in Seattle recognizing Black history and heritage. The next event is scheduled for June 19 to recognize Juneteenth – a holiday marking the day the last remaining enslaved African Americans were set free in the United States.