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By Kamau Austin, Publisher, The Southeast Queens Scoop, AMS/Scoop Publications
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Can The Historic Southeast/Jamaica Queens Community Become The Next Black Wall Street?
"Southeast Queens Became The 1st Large Community In The US Where Black Income Exceeded White Income In The Surrounding Area," But Can It Learn And Evolve Into A Black Wall Street Like Community?"
By Kamau Austin, Publisher, The Southeast Queens Scoop, AMS/Scoop Publications
Black Wall Street was started by a very successful Black Real Estate investor from Arkansas, who grew up in Mississippi, named O. W. Gurley. He purchased about 3 1/2 square miles (or 40 acres) of real estate in Northern Tulsa, Oklahoma, which became known as Greenwood, better known today as Black Wall Street.
He purchased his land in what was called the Oklahoma land grab of 1889. Greenwood was named after Greenwood a street in the area from a place Gurley lived earlier in his life. Greenwood was located on the northern part of Tulsa on the other side of the train tracks.
He set up boarding rooms and hotels and purportedly gave loans with other prominent blacks to African Americans to buy land and homes in the affluent Greenwood area. It is said because of the oil boom in the area Gurley became even more wealthy.
According to Investopedia, also other Blacks had jobs working in the white community in roles such as "high-paying labor jobs as maids, chauffeurs, gardeners, janitors, shoe shiners, and porters." However, they became a viable economic community by then keeping their money primarily circulating in Greenwood among each other in business.
