Opinion/Letter: 100th anniversary of the burning of Black Wall Street – Seacoastonline.com

To the Editor:

This Tuesday marks the 100th anniversary of the infamous burning of Black Wall Street, one of the worst unrecorded tragedies of the 20th century.

Bustling with shoppers, visitors, tourists, and even investors, Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was busied by banks, restaurants, hotels, mutual aid societies, insurance companies, law firms, all razed. At least 300 people were killed in the attack, yet the mainstream media rarely mentions the tragedy.

The Democratic Party of the 19th and early 20th century advertised itself as "protecting the white working class," openly promoting policies to keep American business from hiring Blacks, Latinos, Asians, and American Indians, ranging from occupational licensing to the minimum wage, intended to keep "unemployables" from filling lower wage jobs. The business-oriented Whigs and the abolitionist Liberty Party (where my family came from) merged with the anti-slavery Free Soil Party and American Republican Party at Exeter Town Hall in 1853 to end slavery, but also to open up the labor market, increase tariffs, limit immigration, and pay for infrastructure projects in the new western states. The Republican coalition of that time introduced the Civil Rights Acts of 1866, 1871, 1875, 1957, 1960, and 1964, as well as much needed 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments. Times and issues have changed, and that's why I introduced the Civil Rights Act of 2019 last session and intend to again.

Other successful Black Wall Streets, such as those in Durham, North Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia, proved to be examples of the success of hard work, perseverance, and the success of the American system and American spirit. Little Rock, Jackson, Chicago, and Atlanta also sported lively development of these affluent neighborhoods and helped prove that Americans of all colors and backgrounds could make it. Former slave Maggie Lena Walker became the first Black woman to be a bank president, running both the St. Luke Savings Bank and an insurance company, among others.

I'm writing this letter to the editor to ensure that this piece of our history is not lost. We'd even tried to set up a candlelit vigil at the State House but couldn't get the paperwork processed in time. All of these prosperous Chinatowns, Little Saigons, Greek towns, and Little Italies have shown the hard work and indelible spirit of the American character and the need to preserve these values.

Rep. Max Abramson

Seabrook

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Opinion/Letter: 100th anniversary of the burning of Black Wall Street - Seacoastonline.com