Then, in May of 1921, a white mob attacked the neighborhood and burned it to the ground. Thousands were left homeless, and hundreds injured or dead. In one of the worst domestic terror attacks in our nation’s history, Black Wall Street was annihilated, along with what should have been a foundation of generational wealth.
Historical Black Wall Street may be a memory, but its inspiring legacy endures. Today a new generation of Black business owners and Black-owned banks, known as Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), are working to create a New Black Wall Street.
New Black Wall Street is a movement with a goal of opening up equitable access to capital to communities of color, supporting Black-owned businesses and helping to close the racial wealth gap.
“When I think about Black Wall Street it’s all about parity,” says Harold Butler, head of Citi’s Diverse Financial Institutions Group. “It's about access to opportunities and access to capital so that Black businesses can compete fairly in the marketplace.”