Reflecting on Black History Month

by Nicole R. Robinson

Nicole R. Robinson

Black History Month offers us all a moment to reflect and share ways we can support racial and economic equity today.

THE LEGACY OF TULSA’S BLACK WALL STREET

Although we regularly reflect on the income inequality and racial wealth gap that exist today, there have been many moments throughout history when Black communities were thriving. One era of Black economic prosperity was when Tulsa, Oklahoma’s Greenwood District became known as “Black Wall Street.” It was the most prominent and prosperous Black community in the United States, with churches, schools, and community organizations, as well as hundreds of Black businesses by 1921. It was a self-sustaining community where Black families owned their own homes, hotels, retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and grocery stores, as well as offices for doctors, dentists, and lawyers.

Unfortunately, this economic and social utopia for Black Americans would perish during one of the largest racial massacres in American history, when a white mob destroyed 1,200 homes, along with dozens of buildings and churches. An estimated 300 people were killed, with unmarked graves still being uncovered today. When it was over, the Black community was financially and physically decimated. Today’s value of what was lost is estimated at $200 million dollars.

THE FUTURE OF BLACK-OWNED ARIEL INVESTMENTS

One of the descendants of the massacre is Chicagoan and business leader John H. Rodgers, founder of Ariel Investments, the largest Black-owned investment firm in the United States. Rodgers’ great-grandfather, J. B. Stradford, owned a luxury hotel and multiple businesses in Tulsa prior to the massacre. Undeniably, Rodgers’ family was resilient, given his rise to success as founder of Ariel Investments, but imagine the wealth his family would have created had his grandfather’s financial legacy not been destroyed.

In spite of the erasure of Rodger’s family hotel legacy, he and his co-CEO Melody Hobson continue to build a dynamic economic legacy, having most recently launched a $1.45 billion private equity fund that will invest in minority-owned companies that can serve as suppliers to Fortune 500 companies.

In fact, this month, John Rodgers is featured in Fortune Magazine alongside Hobson (she’s on the cover!) as part of the Black History Month edition.

Nicole R. Robinson is CEO of YWCA Metropolitan Chicago.