There was a time when we all dared
to dream big,
At the heart of it was a man
named O,W, Gurley,
He was my husband, the love of my
life,
His dream was to build a black Wall
Street, a place of pride and possibility for
African Americans during an era where the laws
made this seem impossible,
As I watched him pour his heart and
soul into Greenwood, I fell in love with
him all over again,
This is our story of Black Wall Street
and how it all began,
Thank you,
Thank you all for being here,
This is just the beginning of something great,
In these difficult times, the African American Negro
faces many obstacles,
And it's easy to feel like our dreams
are out of reach,
But I stand here before you today to
let you know that we will rise above,
Together, we will build a community where dreams
come true,
A place where our children can prosper,
A place where our hard work and determination
will create a future filled with hope and
opportunities because we are the architects of our
destiny,
And here, we will rise together,
Our successes, our triumphs will be a testament
to our strength,
And unity,
Let this be a beacon to all those
who seek a better future,
This is for us, by us,
This is our legacy,
I think he's daydreaming again,
All right, Clyde, all right,
That's enough,
Excellent work, Lila,
You captured the key points of the Reconstruction
Amendments,
Now, let's dig a little deeper,
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery,
That's a big one,
The 14th Amendment is your citizenship and equal
protection,
The 15th Amendment is your voting rights,
Now, what I want you all to remember
is that amendments were more than just changes
to the Constitution,
They represent a new hope for equality and
the promise of a better future,
These amendments here, they laid the groundwork for
the civil rights that we're fighting for today,
right now,
Now, y'all remember something,
Understanding our past gives us the power to
change our future,
Every bit of knowledge you gain, it helps
build a better world,
You guys have the power to make a
difference because you are the future,
All right?
Now, that's all we got for today,
Remember your dreams are the blueprints to the
future,
And the future is built by those who
what?
Never give up,
All right,
Looks like y'all learning something,
All right, y'all,
Class dismissed,
She gonna start no trouble now, Lila,
O'Donnell,
Well, ain't I a dreamer?
You ready to join the real world?
Actually, I just finished class, you know,
Some of us have real jobs to buy
us,
Now, O'Doub, you know I love you,
But you can't keep putting posters on people's
properties,
That's gonna get us in trouble,
See, Tobias, the thing is, Cleveland here is
a reformer, okay?
His policies on land reform can actually help
us secure something for our community,
And you think politicians actually care about us?
Tobias, I gotta believe in something,
Look, Cleveland's policies can help us secure land
that can help us better our future,
If we don't push for change for ourselves,
who's gonna push for us?
O'Doub, O'Doub,
Man, what you dreaming about now?
Man, I know what you daydreaming about,
No, man, come on,
Ain't nobody got time for that, Tobias,
You know how much work we have to
do around here, man?
Ain't nobody got time to be thinking about
no woman,
You know what, O'Doub?
The world's always burning with you, man,
There's always gonna be kids that need educating
books, that need reading in elections, that need
winning,
But let me tell you something,
But if you're lucky, if you're really lucky,
you'll find that one true love,
Love?
Nobody thinking about that,
What's love got to do with it, man?
Besides, a woman that fine, she got to
be married to somebody,
You're probably right,
She's out of your league anyway,
That, I didn't say,
You didn't have to,
I know where you work,
Yeah, a man married to a woman like
that, already screamed it to the top of
his lungs,
Now, I wouldn't be surprised if he put
an ad in the front page of the
Arkansas Gazette,
Hey, Tobias, what time is it?
Oh, it's about 4 p,m, Hey, O'Doub,
ain't there somewhere you're supposed to be?
Yeah, I got to get to the post
office, man,
I can't be late again,
Mr, Porter's gonna kill me,
All right, all right,
Don't let your dreams make you late, O'Doub,
We got to establish a corporate fund,
Let me secure loans,
Come on, come on, Curly,
Focus,
You just got here, you're late,
Stop,
Oh,
Oh, my goodness,
Oh, excuse me, ma'am,
I'm so sorry,
Excuse me,
This is yours,
Thank you,
Pardon me, ma'am,
I just, uh, it's you,
Me?
Have we met?
No, uh, we have not,
No, ma'am,
We haven't,
Um, wow,
I feel like, uh, this is one of
those Victorian novels,
Sir, do you think this is the first
moment of the rest of our lives?
No,
No, ma'am, I don't,
I'm just gonna stop talking right now, because
I'm really, uh, don't know what to,,,
I'm sorry,
No, it's, it's fine,
Actually, quite fitting, considering the day I've been
having,
Oh,
Seems like we've made quite the mess,
Yeah, we did,
I'll get all of it,
It's okay,
Um, let's say I usually save my clumsiness
for less public places,
You send a lot of letters?
Yes, I, I write to my family often,
It helps me feel connected,
That's good,
Family's very important,
Definitely,
So, how about you?
What brings you to the post office?
Just the usual,
Trying to make ends meet,
I work here,
Well, I suppose that's admirable,
Not everyone takes pride in their work,
Yeah, some of us appreciate the details,
I envy these letters sometimes,
Why envy the letters?
Because they get to travel to places I
could only dream of,
But here I am, stuck in a world
that doesn't always welcome people like me,
Well, you never be stuck as long as
you have a dream,
Our dreams can take us places that we
never thought were possible,
Well, I guess it's easy to dream of
flying when you're stuck on the ground,
Sometimes the most beautiful journey begins with a
single step,
Here, a symbol of possibility,
The name's O,W, Gurley,
I didn't catch yours,
Emma, there you are,
You ready to go?
Thank you, Mr, Gurley,
It was nice meeting you,
Likewise,
I need you to come to the dinner
tonight,
It's important that you're there when I speak
to your mother,
But I,,,
No buts,
This is about our future, Emma,
You're coming and that's final,
Excuse me, Emma?
Uh, would you like to maybe take a
walk?
Seems like you could actually maybe use a
break,
Yes, I,,,
I love that,
My mother thinks differently,
She thinks it's time I marry,
To that guy?
Oh,
She thinks Sargassus is good because of his
status,
Yeah, well, he don't seem right for you,
I mean, I could see why a mother
would think that, but,,,
Speak for me,
I saw how you look at him,
And that's not the look of love,
You deserve to be with somebody who understands
and respects you,
But what if my mother is right?
What if there's no one better?
Well, I do believe in the idea of
possibility, even when the chances seem small,
But there's always hope for something better,
You deserve someone who truly appreciates you,
Thank you, Ottawa,
That means a lot,
When I first met O,W, Gurley, he
helped me see that the world could be
different if we only had the courage to
make it so,
In quiet moments, we would steal away to
the park, just the two of us, dreaming
of what our lives could be,
Our conversations were filled with hope and possibility,
We need to pool our resources together and
invest in our community,
Gurley's plan will vote a brighter future for
everyone,
Take a look and see for yourselves,
Gurley's ideas are gaining a lot of support,
Thank you,
He believes that America will bring prosperity to
everyone, regardless of race or religion,
As long as we take the right step,
Time to keep up the good work,
I will, and I'm sure he appreciates the
support,
Thank you so much,
I stood by his side as he shared
his political ideas, watching as he inspired others
to believe in a better tomorrow,
He even made me believe that somewhere out
there in the world, there was a place
where I could belong as well,
So have you ever thought about leaving this
place?
All the time,
I have dreams of building something great,
What about you?
You got any dreams in that head of
yours?
Well, I've always wanted to travel,
See the world beyond these streets,
You'll get there someday,
You think so?
I'll make sure of it,
Everyone deserves a chance to spread their wings,
It's so beautiful,
Just like you,
Thank you,
O,W, was a man of big dreams,
but dreams have their cost,
Extra, extra,
Read all about it,
Grover Cleveland wins the election,
Extra, extra,
Read all about it,
Grover Cleveland wins the election,
Dear Gurley, I hope this letter finds you
well,
We would like to officially invite you to
work as part of our new administration under
the newly elected President Grover Cleveland,
Yours truly,
Emma, I need to tell you something,
What is it, O,W,? You've been offered
a position in President Grover Cleveland's administration,
That's wonderful, O,W, Yeah,
This is a huge opportunity,
All the things you could learn,
What this means for the Negro community,
But it also means that I have to
leave this place,
And all this time, I thought you were
the dreamer,
But what about us?
Time will tell that there's a possibility for
us,
Okay?
Come with me,
I want to show you something,
Are we really doing this?
Come on, now,
It'll be fun,
I borrowed these from Amos,
Yeah, I'm quite sure,
Come on,
Have a seat,
What's this?
This is a book of poetry that inspires
me,
Listen,
Art is long and time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave, still
like muffled drums, are beating funeral marches to
the grave,
Lives of great men all remind us we
can make our lives sublime,
And departing leave behind us footprints on the
sands of time,
Isn't that beautiful?
Very,
One day, Emma, I'm going to build something
great,
Yeah,
A place where we can all thrive,
Hear those lines in here about great men
and footprints on the sands of time?
I'm gonna be one of those great men,
I want to leave footprints that lead to
a better path for all Black people in
this country,
That sounds wonderful, Ottawa,
I really hope I get to see that
place one day,
This distance between us would test the strength
of our love,
And so, it began,
Emma, Washington is overwhelming,
The politics here are fierce and progress is
slow,
Jesse O'Connor, my supervisor, dismisses my ideas
and constantly undermines me,
But beyond all of this, I miss you
terribly,
Your absence is a void that nothing here
can fill,
I long to hear your laughter again,
Jesse, these reforms will create loans and provide
opportunities in the Black community,
Gurley, this is idealistic,
We have more pressing issues,
Focus on the current policies,
Jesse, these policies are no good for people
who look like me,
Stick to what you know, Gurley,
We don't have time for your utopian ideas,
Dear Gurley, I miss you more with each
passing day,
Our talks, the laughter, and the dreams we
shared keeps me going,
This place feels so empty without you,
You're out of your depth here, Gurley,
You don't understand what's at stake,
I understand perfectly, Jesse,
You're scared of Black progress in America,
You are a thorn in my side, Gurley,
But it's okay,
I've made sure your proposals for you and
your African-American people never get through Congress,
Welcome to politics,
Gurley, it's been weeks since I've heard from
you,
I'm really starting to worry,
Please let me know you're okay,
I miss you terribly,
Emma, today I received devastating news,
My parents fell ill suddenly, and despite our
efforts, I lost them both,
I'm sorry for not writing sooner,
The fights here, Jesse's sabotage, and losing my
parents have been overwhelming,
Dear Gurley, I can't begin to express how
sorry I am for your loss,
I wish I could be there for you,
Each day here feels heavier without you by
my side,
Please stay strong for us,
Emma, your words give me the strength to
continue,
Despite the obstacles here, I am determined to
make our dreams a reality,
I long for the day I can return
to you,
I found some solace in the quiet of
the countryside, but nothing compares to the life
we dreamed of together,
Your letters are my lifeline, reminding me of
what we're working towards,
Gurley, you've been away for quite some time
now,
The silence is unbearable,
My mother is insisting I consider a suitor
she deems perfect for me,
I need your strength now more than ever,
I miss you more than words can express,
The thought of you being forced into a
life you don't want is unbearable,
I will fight for us, Emma,
Please, hold on,
Oklahoma land, right?
Gurley, what are you doing here?
Mrs, Cillia, I need to see Emma,
It's really important,
Gurley, what are you doing here?
I thought you were still in Washington,
Emma, I couldn't take it another day,
I had to come back and get you,
O,W,, you know this ain't gonna work,
But if she won't go with you, I
ain't gonna stop her,
Mrs, Cillia, I understand your concerns,
But Emma means the world to me,
And I promise I'm gonna give her the
best possible life she could ever have,
I will work endlessly to make sure she
has a beautiful future,
Well, I'm not gonna hold you back, but
I'm gonna tell you something, Gurley,
You better treat this lady right,
Thank you for everything, Mother,
But it's time I follow my own path
now,
Okay?
Let's go, Gurley,
I can't wait to start our life together,
Emma?
Yes?
I promise to give you the world one
day,
I don't need the world, O,W, All
I need is you,
With you by my side, I know we
can accomplish anything,
And I believe in you more than you
know,
Like I said, you better take good care
of my girl,
Yes, ma'am,
All right, you two,
Bye,
Lord, Jesus,
Love you more,
So, uh, I got something for you, Emma,
What is it?
Well, it's a surprise,
Open it,
It's a Victoria novel,
I love it,
Thank you,
Emma, I don't have much now,
But will you do me the honor of
making me the happiest man in the world?
Marry me,
Share this journey with me,
Yes, O,W, There's nothing I want more
than to be your wife,
April 22nd, 1889, the Oklahoma land race,
It is a historic day where thousands will
claim their piece of land and build new
lives,
It was April 22nd, 1889 in Oklahoma,
And the government had opened up land for
people to live on,
Since we had no money, this was our
one shot,
We had to get there first,
This was our only chance to own land,
Well, well, look who decided to show up,
This land is mine, Jesse,
I'm claiming it,
This land was promised to me, and I
intend to claim it no matter the cost,
Yeah, well, that's not how the law works,
Jesse,
See the way the law works, whoever claims
the land owns it,
And today, that's going to be me,
This land holds my future, my family's future,
You take it, you take everything from us,
Oh, what?
Like you did me in Washington?
Huh?
I'm not backing down, Jesse,
Jesse and Gurley both knew about this perfect
piece of land by the river,
It was the last spot left,
Gurley had to get there first,
Well, looks like this land is mine,
I think we're about done here, Jesse,
See you around, man,
You did it, O,W,, you did it!
Look at this, Gurley,
The town is forming a local governance,
You know, this really could be a good
thing,
You should put your name in for treasurer,
Might be a good chance to influence how
things are done around here,
Look, you have great ideas for this town,
People just need to hear them,
Yeah, but what if they don't hear?
Then you make them see,
Look, I believe in you,
Just need a chance to see what I
see,
You know what, Em?
You're right,
I think I'm gonna do it,
Wonderful,
And no matter what happens, I'm proud of
you,
Vote for Gurley, treasurer, town treasurer,
Vote for Gurley, treasurer,
Vote for Gurley,
Vote for Gurley to be treasurer,
Hello, Mr, Postmaster,
I don't know if you had a chance
to review some of my- Thank you
for coming here today,
The votes are in for town council,
For the position of Agricultural Commissioner, John Appleton,
For the position of Town Clerk, William Brown,
For the position of Town Treasurer, Charles Miller,
For the position of Public Works Director, Edward
Davis,
You're back early, O,W, What happened?
I didn't win the election,
It's fine,
We have everything we need right here,
You're my victory every single day,
How did I get so lucky?
Because you are one lucky man,
That I am,
I just really wish you'd find your happiness,
O,W, I have something for you, Gurley,
Do you, now?
Yes,
Look at that,
Just like life, isn't it?
Wow,
Even if it feels dark, there's still beauty
to be found,
If you know where to look,
That's magical, yeah?
These shadows, just like our dreams, are real,
As long as we keep believing, O,W,
Everything's going to be okay,
Okay?
Yeah,
Success attracts problems, Gurley,
Remember that,
We'll be okay, O,W, We're ready for
whatever comes our way,
O,W, What's that noise?
I don't know,
You stay here,
Let me go see,
Get out of our town, Gurley,
This place isn't for your kind,
Take your business and leave,
O,W, Stay inside, Emma,
This is just the beginning,
If you don't leave, it is only going
to get worse,
You're all cowards!
Hiding behind masks and attacking an unarmed man!
You're all cowards!
Last chance,
You better leave while you still can,
Next time, it won't just be a raid,
I'll bring everything I have to crush you,
Come on,
You're going to be okay, O,W, I
won't let them win,
I'm fine, Emma,
It's just a scratch,
Still the optimistic,
Yep,
Living the dream,
Mandatory court appearance,
Failure to comply with the new Jim Crow
segregation laws will result in closure of business,
We won't let them win, O,W, We'll
fight this,
Gentlemen and lady, we are here to address
the new Jim Crow segregation laws and their
effect on local businesses,
Your Honor, these laws are necessary to maintain
public order and to uphold our community's values,
Mr, Gurley's store operating in a predominantly white
area violates these laws,
Your Honor, these laws are discriminatory and unjust,
My husband's store serves everyone and contributes to
this community,
Forcing us to relocate will destroy our business
and hurt our town,
Mr, and Mrs, Gurley, the law is clear,
Your store must comply with the new segregation
laws,
Now, you have 30 days to close or
relocate to the designated area,
Your Honor, with all due respect, this is
our livelihood,
The decision is final,
Now, leave my chambers,
What are we going to do now?
There's another way,
There's always another way,
Come on,
You know, this isn't how I envision marriage,
Come inside,
Soon, Em,
I promise,
I've heard that before,
Won't you just tell me what you're working
on?
Our future,
I love how much you focus on the
future, but for one day, can we live
in the present, right now?
Come inside,
Soon, Em,
I promise,
You know I love you, Debbie, right?
Of course,
And I also appreciate, you know, I love
our life, the store we built, our travels,
I'm living my wildest dreams, but you're not
living yours,
Emma,
Let me just say my piece while I've
got the nerve,
I get nervous when you talk about the
future, because what that means for me is
that you leave,
Emma,
Look, you followed your dream to go to
Washington, and now you open the General Store,
I did that for us,
I hardly see you,
Well, what do you want me to do?
To be here,
I am here, Em,
It doesn't feel like it,
I feel alone,
You know that isn't true,
I know about Osage County,
You know about Osage County because I told
you about it,
I know that you had a meeting with
the bank,
Okay, it was just a meeting, Emma,
A meeting about selling our store,
How did you hear that?
It doesn't matter how I heard about it,
O,W, I should have heard it from
you,
You said that the store was our future,
What changed?
And when were you going to tell me?
The future is in Osage County, okay?
With the oil boom that I've been hearing
about,
We can start anew and build something even
greater,
Yeah, until the next dream,
Emma,
It's always another dream with you, O,W,
Why can't what we have just ever be
enough?
Look, if you want to go to Osage
County, I won't stop you,
Okay, fine,
But why sell our store?
Emma, listen,
Every rule, every law they make, they change,
If we purchase this land, no one can
take it away from us,
And if it doesn't work?
It will,
I don't like when you leave,
I won't be gone long,
We can't afford to lose everything,
We won't,
I promise,
Fine, but I'm coming with you,
And that's the end of that,
Okay, it's fine by me then,
We're going to Osage County,
But we need to sell the store first,
Okay, we'll sell it on our terms,
Absolutely,
Under no circumstances can Jesse O'Connor have
access to this land, our store, or its
operations,
If the buyer agrees to that, then we
can proceed,
Together we can get through this,
Together we will,
With the money from the sale of our
land and store, Gurley and I purchased 40
acres of land in Osage County in Tulsa,
Oklahoma,
Emma, this land is just full of so
much potential,
You see it?
Potential, huh?
Looks like a whole lot of dirt to
me,
But I know better than to doubt you,
This land here is going to be bigger
and better than anything that we could ever
dream of,
All right, O,W,, let's turn this dirt
into our dream,
Welcome home, Em,
I love it,
It's everything we dreamed of,
You're at it again, O,W, It's got
you so focused this time,
And I think that I want to turn
our land into a thriving community,
We can encourage people to move here and
build their livelihoods and their futures,
You really thought this through, but how are
you going to make it happen?
Well, with the money from the sale of
our store,
We can give loans,
We can help people establish their businesses and
their homes,
And then once they get everything going, they
can pay us back,
Well, I believe in you, O,W,, and
I'll be right here with you every step
of the way,
We traveled back to our old home in
Oklahoma, hoping to convince some of the residents
to move to our new community,
Come see the new community we're building, based
on building our future opportunities for homes and
businesses,
Excuse me, sir,
Have you thought about relocating?
We're building a thriving community that will be
good for everyone,
Our trip to Osage was a total failure,
No one wanted to move to our new
Black-owned town,
I never seen Gurley so down,
But I knew we couldn't give up,
Fool for believing I can play in this!
No!
I don't know what else to do,
I've done everything,
As long as I'm a Black man in
America, I don't stand a chance,
All I could ever do, all I could
ever do, was stand in front of kids
and teach children, or short mail in the
post office,
In Washington, they never intended to implicate any
of my ideas,
They brought me there to show me that
a Black man could never make a difference,
Look at us, we're out here in the
middle of nowhere,
The middle of nowhere, and we're still experiencing
hate,
Why?
Because they're that afraid of my ideas?
Or is it just that I'm that ignorant?
It's solely because of the color of my
skin?
Sometimes I wish to God for them to
just give me any other wish than this,
I mean, why would you, why would you
let me have this dream?
Why would you give me this vision?
Nobody wants what I have,
Gave me all this to share,
I feel like sometimes I just do better
lying in my grave,
Your mother was right,
I ain't gonna never make it,
I hate this life,
Hate it?
How do you think I feel, girly?
You took me away from my family, everything
I knew and loved,
All because you had a dream of something
greater,
You don't think I want to settle and
have a peaceful life too?
Huh?
You don't think I want to have kids
and raise a family?
Yes, I do,
But all I do is sit at home
and wait while you chase yet another dream,
Year after year, I've been patiently waiting for
you to finally work on building us,
But you never do,
And I've come to realize that maybe you
never will,
It still has to be because you're my
husband, but you act like I don't even
exist,
Because the only dream that matters is yours,
When was the last time you took time
to focus on my dreams?
To ask me how I'm feeling, what I
want?
Never, girly,
You never consider how I feel,
Because it's always about you, you, you and
the life you want to build,
So don't tell me you hate this life
when you brought us here,
You chose this life,
This was your dream and I followed you
because I believed in you,
So stop it,
Emma, Emma, baby, I'm sorry,
I never realized,
Oh, you never realized, girly,
Because you're always living in your head,
You don't think I look back on all
the suitors my mother sent me that were
doctors, bankers and lawyers,
And think how simple my life would have
been had I just listened to my mother's
advice,
I think about it all the time,
But still I stay and you want to
know why?
Because I chose you,
I chose this life,
So I have to keep my head up
and fight, girly,
When life gets hard, I don't have the
luxury of just giving up,
I have to fight because that is what
we do, right?
We fight,
When things get tough, we don't just give
up because it's hard right now,
You're right, Emma,
You're right,
We've just been fighting so long,
I don't know what to do anymore,
Then you fight until there's nothing left,
That is what you do, O,W, You
fight,
You fight because you realize that it's not
just your dream, but it's mine, too,
You fight for us,
You fight for every black man in America
who feels the way you feel,
You fight,
We've come too far to give up now,
You're right, Emma,
You're right,
Remember how you explained that poem to me?
You said sometimes the most beautiful journeys start
with a single step that leaves footprints for
others to follow,
Then maybe you need to find people that's
been where you are,
That's the struggles that you face that need
what you have instead of those who hope
to see you fail,
Find people who need what I have,
Yeah,
Emma?
I think I have a plan,
Oh?
What's that?
Well, it involves Greenwood, Mississippi,
Greenwood?
Why?
Well, I've been thinking about what you said
last night, and we need people who understand
our struggle,
People who need what we have to offer,
Greenwood is full of black people, folks facing
the same discrimination, and I want to convince
them to come home to Oklahoma,
That sounds like a wonderful plan, LW,
So what will you call this place?
The Greenwood District, of course,
Greenwood District,
I like it,
I want to thank all of you for
taking the time to listen,
I want to tell you all about a
place where we can be free,
A land where we can build our own
businesses and own our own homes,
Imagine a community built for us, by us,
A place where our hard work benefits us
and our families, not those who seek to
keep us down,
I'm not asking you to believe in words,
I'm asking you to come see for yourselves,
Whatever you are dreaming of, my name is
O,W, Gurley, and Greenwood, we can build,
Gurley, we've received quite a few letters from
the people in the community today,
Shall I read them?
Absolutely, Em,
Dear Mr, Gurley, I want to open a
bakery using my mama's recipes,
We need a proper place to start,
Sincerely, David Brown,
The year was 1910,
During the Great Migration, Black families heard about
opportunities in Greenwood and began packing up their
homes, hoping to start new lives in what
came to be known as the exodus to
Greenwood,
Dear Mr, Gurley, I want to open a
school for African American students, a place where
our children can learn and grow,
Sincerely, Lucy Johnson,
Gurley and I put all our effort into
building homes, churches, and spaces for others to
open their own businesses in Greenwood,
Dear Mr, Gurley, I want to open a
theater, but people say a Black-owned business
like mine won't get support,
Sincerely, William Washington,
Next letter,
Dear Mr, Gurley, we want to open a
restaurant,
Good food, good company, good atmosphere,
Sincerely, John and Mary Smith,
And that's all of them for today,
Wow, Em,
Greenwood is going to really be something special,
The Gurley Motel,
We did it, Em,
It's beautiful, O'Dowdville,
And just in time,
I received letters at the first few days,
Families are due to arrive soon,
Well, let's make them as comfortable as possible,
Greenwood Avenue,
Finally, our promised land is right here,
Thank you,
Don't be afraid, all right?
It's the big moment we've been waiting for,
Are you the one in charge?
I am, Sheriff,
Gurley,
O,W, Gurley,
And today marks the grand opening of several
of our businesses here in the town of
Greenwood,
Welcome,
Is that right?
Yes, sir,
Now, although you have no jurisdiction here, Sheriff,
you're more than welcome to stick around and
spend your money,
I can testify that we have some of
the best pies here in Greenwood, this side
of Oklahoma,
Pies,
Let's head out, boys,
Y'all come back now, you hear?
Let's go show them what we built,
All right,
All right, okay,
Good day to you, sirs,
How y'all doing?
Good evening, sir,
Good evening there, sir,
We got some good fruit right here,
Here you go, sir,
Thanks, sir,
You have a good one now,
You too,
O,W,, you got to see this,
Well, this is exactly what we need,
Well, what's the plan?
You're going to post this everywhere, and I
want you to get this out to every
Black community you can,
Yes, sir, boss,
Greenwood is rising,
Yes, it is,
And to the members and guests of the
Vernon AME Church, may the Lord bless you
and keep you,
May his face shine upon you and be
gracious to you,
Go in peace, and may you carry his
light to the world,
Amen,
Who was that?
That's Stratford,
Almost as wealthy as you, if not more,
He owned a successful hotel in another state,
Okay,
You mind if I take a moment to
introduce myself?
Go ahead, O,W, I'll wait for you,
Okay,
Thanks,
Congratulations on opening Mount Vernon AME Church,
Well, thank you,
God bless you, my brother,
All right, see you next Sunday, Pastor,
I'll see you there,
Mr, Stratford, O,W, Gurley,
It's a pleasure to meet you,
I've heard a lot about you,
Gurley, nice to meet you, too,
It's finally good to meet the man who's
making waves around here,
I'm doing my best,
What can I say?
Do you have a moment to talk?
Of course,
Go right ahead,
Well, I mean, I'm sure you heard I've
been building a community around here, but I
figured we can do a lot more,
And I've heard about your success, and I
believe with your help that we could actually
make this place even greater,
I work hard for what I have,
Gurley, what exactly are you proposing?
Come to Greenwood, Mr, Stratford,
Build your hotel here,
Together, we can create something monumental,
I enjoy my life here,
I don't want to get into your trouble,
I could lose everything,
You do realize that you'll never reach the
top where you are, right?
But together, you and I, we could build
something spectacular,
We can have our own Black America,
Look, I'll even give you the land and
the funding to get started,
How much are we talking?
20%,
Make it 30%, and we have a deal,
That's a deal,
All right,
Better than all right, I'll tell you,
Better than all right, Emmel,
Mrs, Stratford, this is my lovely wife, Emmel,
Nice to meet you,
Looks like we're going to be making history
here together,
Sounds good,
Yeah,
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday,
You too,
All right, Mr, Stratford,
Someday again,
Gurley convinced Stratford to build his hotel in
Greenwood, and we gave him everything he needed
to get started,
It was going to be the greatest thing
black people had ever seen,
You need to see this,
Negroes attempt to build their own Wall Street,
Black Wall Street,
I like the sound of that,
We need to reprint this article,
Change the headline to Welcome to Black Wall
Street,
The article should be welcoming black entrepreneurs and
families from all across America to come and
join us,
I like the sound of that,
I'll get someone on it right away,
Thank you, dear,
You're welcome,
We're sick and tired of you people waltzing
around like you own the place,
We're ready for you to get out of
here, pack your bags, and go,
We've heard all about your so-called Negro
Wall Street,
We won't let it stand,
Black Wall Street,
I like it,
Kind of has a nice ring to it,
By the way, tell your newspaper editors thanks
for the inspiration,
We don't want your kind here,
This place doesn't belong to you,
On the contrary, this land does belong to
us,
And being that it's my town, well, that
makes me the sheriff,
So unless you want to spend the night
in a greenwood jail, I suggest you take
your grievances elsewhere,
You're nothing but a fraud, girly,
A common man trying to play master,
And the way that you come around here
harassing innocent people, what does that make you?
You haven't heard the last of us,
For your sakes, I hope so,
Otherwise, next time, I won't take so kindly
to you harassing our business owners and families,
Don't be afraid,
Stay,
This is our promised land,
This hotel will be the epitome of class
and entertainment,
Welcome to the Stratford Hotel,
They did a marvelous job,
It's beautiful,
I can't wait to go inside,
Congratulations, Stratford,
Thank you, girly,
It's been a long journey, but we're finally
here,
Yes, it has,
And we're just getting started,
This is exactly what greenwood needed,
Right,
Let's go inside to celebrate,
Look at him go,
Full of energy, that one,
He's certainly entertaining,
There you are,
You been hiding from me?
You owe me rolling pay up,
Don't touch me, man,
Keep your hands off me,
I don't owe you nothing,
Hey, hey, hey,
What's going on here now, fellas?
Well, Dick Roland here owes me a pretty
penny, and he's refusing to pay up,
I told you I was going to give
you your money, so back off,
Okay, look, hold on now,
How much does he owe you?
$75, sir,
Whoa, that's a lot of money now,
And he's refusing to pay it,
Is this true, Roland?
He can get it when he get it,
I told him I'm trying to get my
shoeshine station up and running,
He know that,
Now, that's not right,
That's not right now, Dick,
How about this, okay?
Look, I'll cover your debt, all right?
And you owe me,
And whatever you're trying to get off the
ground, you can talk to me about,
Okay?
How does that sound?
Huh?
Yeah,
All right?
Well, good luck getting a penny out of
this one,
All right,
I'll see you tomorrow,
And you, you come by my office in
the morning,
And you stop squandering your potential getting into
these little squabbles,
You better than this, all right?
We have to show the world that we're
better than this,
It's going to cost you more than $75
one of these days,
Yes, sir,
All right?
Now, go on and have a good time,
I'll see you in the morning,
Yes, sir,
Don't drink too much,
All right, sir,
Me and you in the morning,
Okay,
All right,
Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention,
please?
Tonight, we celebrate not only the opening of
this hotel, but the resilience and strength of
our community,
And who better to speak on that resilience
other than the man who made this possible?
Mr, O,W, Gurley,
Thank you,
Thank you, Stratford,
This would not have happened without you,
You know that,
And thank you to everyone here,
Greenwood is not just a place,
It's a symbol of our determination and our
spirit,
And we will show the world what we
are capable of,
We are Black Wall Street,
Danny!
This is it,
This is a dream,
Emma, listen to this, NAB Negro accused of
attempted rape in the Drexler Building elevator,
I didn't think this was possible,
This could destroy Greenwood,
What happened, O,W,? Dick Rowland is accused
of attempting to rape a white woman in
the Drexler Building elevator,
This article is stirring up trouble,
It's making it sound like he's guilty before
a trial,
NAB Negro?
And what is that supposed to mean?
Exactly what it sounds like,
They're trying to stir up a white mob
to march on Greenwood and NAB Dick Rowland,
If that happens, he's not going to make
it to a trial, let alone out of
town alive,
We can't let them begin to terrorize us
like this,
We've got to do something,
What are you going to do?
I've got to get with Stratford,
I've got to come up with a solution,
But Dick's reputation isn't exactly spotless,
He could cause a problem for everyone,
He's been a problem ever since he arrived
here in Greenwood,
Yeah, but we've all had our fair share
of problems,
We can't let that influence us,
We've got to protect Dick and make sure
he gets a fair trial,
If we don't, it sets a precedence with
whites that fair trials don't apply to blacks,
And we can't let the newspapers determine our
fate,
I can't believe this,
One person's actions going to jeopardize the lives
of everyone else?
I put a lot of money in this
because of you,
I know, Stratford,
I know,
But we've got to protect Dick and make
sure he gets a fair trial,
Not just for him, but for all of
us,
And we'll protect our investments and we'll keep
Greenwood safe from any backlash,
I promise you have my word,
Are we staying together or we get picked
apart one by one?
He's right,
We've got to get the word out to
the community to stay calm but remain vigilant,
Okay,
I'll help organize a meeting and spread the
word,
By the authority of this badge, I deputize
you to restore order and take back what's
been threatened,
Greenwood's time is up,
March in, show no mercy, and reclaim this
town,
I hereby deputize each of you to uphold
the law and protect this town,
Tonight, we march on Greenwood and burn it
to the ground,
We don't have much time,
They captured Roland and the mob is on
its way,
They're coming here to burn down Greenwood,
And capturing leaders,
Y'all need to go now,
Come on,
Wait, wait, wait, wait,
How did this happen?
Tulsa deputizes citizens,
They are the mob now,
No, no, law enforcement can't work with the
mob, Stratford,
That's madness,
It's illegal,
They can't do that,
You're not listening,
The mob is the law,
Why aren't you listening to me?
But what about Dick?
Is he okay?
Dick is at the sheriff right now,
He's okay,
But the mob is on its way,
You gotta go right now, man,
Please, hurry up,
Let's go,
That night, we watched our dreams go up
in flames,
The mob, deputized by the very law meant
to protect us, tore through Greenwood with a
fury fueled by hatred and ignorance,
They burned our homes, our businesses, and our
hopes,
But they couldn't destroy our spirit,
They came with torches and guns, driven by
blind rage,
They turned our thriving community into ashes, leaving
us with nothing but our will to survive,
Yet, in the face of much unimaginable loss,
we still find strength,
From the ashes of Greenwood, we will rebuild,
brick by brick,
We will restore what was taken from us,
Black Wall Street will rise again, stronger and
more determined than ever,
It will rise in the hearts of black
men and women who understand the importance of
resilience and unyielding faith,
We built Black Wall Street with our hands
and our hearts,
We showed the world what black excellence looks
like,
We faced unimaginable trials, but we never gave
up,
Our footsteps have laid the path for future
generations,
This is our legacy,
This is our promise,
To never stop dreaming,
To never stop fighting,
Love, faith, and resilience are our guiding stars,
As long as we hold on to these,
nothing can stop us,
Never stop dreaming,
Gurley and I never stopped believing,
Although they burned over 35 square blocks of
Greenwood homes and businesses to the ground, nearly
two years later, all the homes were rebuilt,
This is our story of faith, resilience, of
love,
The story of Black Wall Street,