Photo: Hot Sam’s
DETROIT July 19, 2023 ~ This Friday, a celebration will take place in Downtown Detroit to celebrate Black business communities across the country.
Taking place from 5 – 8:30 p.m. on July 20 at Campus Martius Park, Detroit’s Black Wall Street will be a festival, entertainment hub, and showcase for Black businesses. The event, presented by Hot Sam’s, will honor the history and legacy of Black Wall Street in Tulsa, along with Detroit’s Black Bottom neighborhood.
Black Wall Street was a name given to the Greenwood District in Tulsa, an area with a large concentration of Black businesses and one of the wealthiest Black populations in the U.S. at the time. In 1921, a mob of white supremacists burned down over 35 square blocks of the neighborhood. The two-day stretch of violence killed hundreds of people, left thousands of Black residents homeless, and destroyed large masses of Black wealth. This became known as the Tulsa Race Massacre.
PODCAST:
July 20, 2023 ~ 760 WJR Senior News Analyst Lloyd Jackson talks to Marie Osborne about Detroit’s Black Wall Street event on Friday in Campus Martius.
(CONTINUED) As people acknowledged the 100-year mark of Black Wall Street destruction in Tulsa, Hot Sam’s Legacy Preserver and Business Lead Lauren Stovall wanted to celebrate the Black-owned clothing store reaching the same age, she told 760 WJR Senior News Analyst Lloyd Jackson. Detroit’s Black Wall Street started in 2021 to recognize Black business strides throughout history across the country, she said.
Some similarities can be seen between Black Wall Street, and Detroit’s historic Paradise Valley and Black Bottom neighborhoods. Jackson said on “JR Morning with Guy Gordon” that these majority-Black neighborhoods were bulldozed to construct I-375 in the late 50s and early 60s, with many Black-owned businesses and nightclubs destroyed in the process. Campus Martius will be home to a Black Bottom archive installation during the event.
Ten Black-owned businesses will be featured in a digital coupon hunt in partnership with the BeFriend Me app, a newly developed Black-owned social media community platform. There will also be art installations, a Hot Sam’s fashion show, musical performances, and educational opportunities.
“It is entertainment, fashion, food, and shopping, but it is also a learning event,” Jackson said. “Sometimes when you hear ‘Detroit’s Black Wall Street,’ you think, ‘Oh, this is just for African Americans.’ No, this is for everyone. The whole Detroit community (is able) to come down to enjoy this and learn.”
More information about Detroit’s Black Wall Street can be found on Eventbrite.
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