Stradford, born into slavery in Kentucky, later becoming a lawyer and activist, moved to Greenwood in 1898. Other prominent Black entrepreneurs followed suit. “They actually had a system where someone who wanted to own a business could get help in doing that.” Gurley would actually loan money to people who wanted to start a business,” says Kristi Williams, vice chair of the African American Affairs Commission in Tulsa. Then word began to spread about opportunities for Black people in Greenwood and they flocked to the district. Gurley started with a boarding house for African Americans. “He had a vision to create something for Black people by Black people.” “Gurley is credited with having the first Black business in Greenwood in 1906,” says Hannibal Johnson, author of Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa’s Historic Greenwood District. of Greenwood before the Tulsa Race Massacre.Ĭourtesy of Tulsa Historical Society & Museum Built 'For Black People, by Black People' The intersection of Greenwood Avenue and Archer St.
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