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On the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre on June 1, Tyrance Billingsley II decided to launch an organization to aid Black entrepreneurs living in the area once known as Black Wall Street . The native Black Tulsan entrepreneur teamed up with SecondMuse to launch Black Tech Street , a national initiative and tech hub on a mission to mobilize resources and companies to build a community for Black-owned technology companies. “I am a born and raised Tulsa entrepreneur, ecosystem builder and community leader. I excel in visioning and convening people to work together toward building collective progress,” Billingsley told AfroTech. “I am passionate about the tech industry and envisioning ways we can use technology to enhance quality of life.” SecondMuse has a decade of experience incubating entrepreneurial ecosystems to create equitable economies. With 13 global offices, the global innovation company will be lending personnel and resources to Billingsley to execute Black Tech Street’s...
The hype surrounding non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and smart contracts presents Black Tech Street the perfect opportunity to unveil their latest campaign. The national initiative — which launched on the Tulsa Race Massacre anniversary last month — is now launching the first-ever regenerative fundraising campaign to build a brand new tech hub for Black entrepreneurs in Tulsa, OK, a press release reports. As part of its commitment to facilitate a $1 billion investment in the Black Tulsa Economy, Black Tech Street hopes this campaign will inspire social impact giving from today’s most impactful innovators and investors. “We are minting a one-of-a-kind Centennial Coin NFT to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Greenwood Massacre and to raise funds to secure the next 100 years of innovation and success for Black entrepreneurs,” Black Tech Street founder Tyrance Billingsley II said in a statement. In partnership with SecondMuse and Blockchange, the new tech hub will represent what was...
Tulsa, OK native Darnell Washington — who has over 30 years of experience in television broadcasting sales, management, and ownership — has launched a new streaming service called the Black Wall Street TV Network inspired by his hometown’s historical breeding ground for successful Black entrepreneurs, Black Business reports. “We are a special TV viewing experience growing into the future,” according to the network’s website. “Rising from the ashes of the 1921 Black Wall Street Massacre, this TV Network thrives on the success that Tulsa’s Black Wall Street of 2021 now encompasses.” Black Wall Street is known to be one of the most prosperous Black communities in the early 1900s and is famously associated with flourishing Black-owned businesses. Since the Tulsa Race Massacre, the town has since rebuilt itself to once again be a vibrant and economically-stable area that’s moving toward a brighter future. Washington’s BWS-TV Network — free to anyone with an internet connection — now aims...
Successful entrepreneur and go-getter Ryan Glover has always been excited about the entertainment industry despite his inability to rap, sing, or dance. For him, it has always been from a business perspective. Using his passion for entertainment, specifically music from all over the country, Glover began to build his resume right in Washington, D.C. at Howard University. “I saw the energy being created all over and thought it would be an amazing idea to bring that energy to Washington D.C. onto Howard’s campus,” he tells Black Tech Green Money host Will Lucas. For Glover, Howard was more than just a learning experience. It was a place where he not only learned from other cultures and people from all over the world but began to form the very relationships that he says have helped him to remain successful across multiple industries. “It was actually these very relationships that helped me to build my first business,” he said. “They were garnered right on Howard’s campus.” Glover is a...
The 99th anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre just recently passed and as an ode to what was once the wealthiest Black neighborhood in the country, current residents of the town continue to uphold its legacy. Before the chain of tragic events, Tulsa, Oklahoma was recognized as Black Wall Street, a historic Black and affluent district filled with thriving businesses. Today, current residents have opened their own businesses to keep the name of the neighborhood alive. A few of those residents recently shared their stories of Black Wall Street with Black Enterprise and how they’re preserving the neighborhood’s origin story. “One of the greatest ways to pay homage to those who came before us is to respect their legacy enough to not just commemorate it but to keep it alive,” said Onikah Asamoa-Caesar, owner of Fulton Street Books . “Being a young Black business owner to me is to be one more person keeping the flame lit.” She added, “When I see images of Black Wall Street, I see...
The excellence of Black Wall Street is often overshadowed by the story of The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 , which lead to the city’s demise. A once flourishing and self-sustained Black community was destroyed by a racist mob that left hundreds of Black citizens dead, and many Black-owned businesses reduced to ashes. However, in the spirit of renewing and celebrating the community’s rich history, The Greenwood Chamber of Commerce has received a $500,000 grant from the National Park Service to renovate the historic city, according to Tulsa World. Although the grant will be used to replace roofs and remodel the exterior of ten buildings in the Greenwood Centre, chamber president, Freeman Culver, hopes the grant will ignite the nostalgic spirit of Black excellence within Tulsa. “We hope that it’s obvious we’re committed to preserving the history our ancestors left us,” Culver told Tulsa World . The most recent renovation of the buildings took place in the 1980s after the block was...
Democratic candidates are gearing up to secure the Black vote in the upcoming 2020 presidential election. Former mayor of New York City and presidential hopeful, Mike Bloomberg is among those rolling out initiatives and reform plans aimed at empowering and supporting Black businesses and entrepreneurship. According to Black Enterprise Bloomberg announced his Greenwood Initiative: Economic Justice For Black America plan during MLK weekend. The plan is named after the Greenwood community located in Tulsa, Oklahoma which was the home of Black WallStreet, a thriving early 20th-century community of Black businesses and entrepreneurs. According to Bloomberg’s official campaign site , the Greenwood plan promises to create 100,000 new Black-owned businesses and one million new Black homeowners over the next decade. The details of the Greenwood plan are to increase Black businesses by providing one-stop shops for entrepreneurs, increasing incubators, strengthening Black-owned banks, and...