Overview
- In May and June 1921 a white mob descended on Greenwood, known as Black Wall Street, killing and injuring many residents and burning businesses in an attack long mischaracterized as a riot.
- A 2025 U.S. Department of Justice report concluded the violence was systematic and involved ordinary residents, police officers and veterans rather than spontaneous mob action.
- Archaeologists and forensic teams at Oaklawn Cemetery have exhumed nearly 60 sets of remains since 2020 and confirmed multiple victims died of gunshot trauma, including individuals with bullets still lodged in bones.
- Community leaders and city officials are pressing for reparations and a Greenwood Trust with a reported $105 million fundraising goal while the last known survivor, Lessie Benningfield Randle, remains a focal point of restitution efforts.
- The 105th anniversary observances this weekend highlighted memorials and candlight vigils and renewed concerns that recent development and gentrification have displaced Black-owned businesses and complicated plans to preserve Greenwood's legacy and channel restorative investment.