Over a century since the Black Wall Street massacre, Tulsa is becoming a hub for business owners.

• In 1921, the Tulsa community known as Black Wall Street was destroyed by a white mob, resulting in one of the worst racial massacres in American history.
• To aid the next generation of Black entrepreneurs, community members are constructing a network of organizations.
• Despite corporations expressing interest in Black founders' success after the 2020 racial reckoning, barriers persist, hindering their progress nationwide.

Venita Cooper, owner of Silhouette Sneakers & Art in TULSA, is reminded of the giants whose shoulders she stands on by a framed black-and-white photo among rows of colorful shoes lining the walls.

The picture overlaid with the company name Grier Shoe Shop and its address, which is part of Black Wall Street, shows the business that previously occupied Cooper's building before it was destroyed during the Tulsa Race Massacre more than a century ago.

Since the 1970s, there have been numerous waves of Black entrepreneurship in the area, with a recent focus on innovation and technology. This surge was accelerated after the 2020 racial reckoning sparked corporate and social interest in uplifting Black Americans.

Our goal is to revitalize this area, establish thriving businesses, and reclaim what was taken from us, as stated by Cooper in an interview.

Arbit, an artificial intelligence platform for the shoe resale market, is also run by Cooper, who is part of a growing group of Black entrepreneurs drawing inspiration and resources from Tulsa's history.

She participated in Act House, a program that supports entrepreneurs of color by offering a $70,000 investment with no interest or equity requirements. Nonlocal participants move to Oklahoma's second-largest city to collaborate with peers and other professionals.

A difficult history

Dominick Ard'is, founder of Act House, stated that bringing participants to Tulsa for several months can help them understand their role in the broader context of minority entrepreneurship. Some participants who were not initially part of the community have remained beyond the accelerator's conclusion, contributing their emerging businesses to the growing network of minority-owned enterprises in the region.

The Act House is a part of a group of organizations that support Black-owned businesses in Tulsa, a mission that is particularly important to these stakeholders due to the city's tumultuous past.

On May 31, 1921, the Greenwood district, also known as Black Wall Street, was attacked by a white mob, resulting in the death of up to 300 Black people and the destruction of over 1,000 businesses and homes. This event would later be recognized as one of the worst racial massacres in American history.

The murder of George Floyd in 2020 and the centennial anniversary of the Tulsa massacre in 2021 brought new attention to that history. However, outside Tulsa, advocates claim that corporate interest in supporting Black businesses has decreased since then, due to rising interest rates and economic uncertainty.

Efforts to rebuild what was lost in the local community are being made by empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs. One way this is being achieved is through Build In Tulsa, a network of firms such as accelerators and investors.

Tulsa Managing Director Ashli Sims stated that she has observed increased recognition of Tulsa as a burgeoning technology hub and a clearer comprehension of why it is crucial for Black entrepreneurs to establish themselves there, given its history. Sims, who was reared in the city, emphasized the need to counter the belief that success can only be found outside of Tulsa, as it once was on Black Wall Street.

Sims stated that he desires young, Black children in Tulsa, Oklahoma to witness tech startups, CEOs, founders, and innovators. He wants them to see wealth and understand that it is a part of their future.

According to Sims, entrepreneurs can succeed without relocating to a coastal city.

A new space for entrepreneurs of color has been established in Tulsa, where they can collaborate and hold meetings. The three-story building is located on the corner of North Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Reconciliation Way, which was renamed in 2019 to remove any ties to the Ku Klux Klan.

Edna Martinson, founder of Boddle, has found a sense of belonging in the physical community in Tulsa. Her company offers three-dimensional games for children that promote learning. Through her involvement in Tulsa, Martinson has become part of the national Black entrepreneurship space and has more connections at popular events such as Art Basel in Miami and South by Southwest in Austin.

Martinson stated that the Tulsa island is not just isolated, but rather serves as an entrance to the broader national community of founders of color and ecosystem builders.

Funding challenges

Although advancements have been made, it is important to recognize that the disparities faced by Black entrepreneurs persist due to the fragmented network of organizations providing support. The most significant challenge mentioned by many is the difficulty in securing funding.

The Stanford study from 2016 revealed that Black entrepreneurs have $500 in outside equity, while their white counterparts have $18,500. Despite the small amounts for both groups, the National Bureau of Economic Research found that white-owned startups received five times more capital from family and other insiders compared to Black-owned startups.

In 2023, only 0.48% of venture capital dollars went to black founders, as reported by Crunchbase. Traditional financing methods are hindered by practices such as personal collateral requirements, making it more challenging for those without generational wealth to access funding.

LaTanya White, founder of Concept Creative Group, stated, "Building a business while trying to create something that opens doors for generations in your family and community is literally exhausting."

Despite comprising more than 12% of the US population, less than 3% of US businesses are Black-owned, according to recent federal data analyzed by CNBC.

Adesanya, an entrepreneur, has faced challenges in securing funding for his hardware-focused technology company, but has received support from organizations aimed at assisting founders of color.

Besides participating in Act House, he has received tens of thousands of dollars from programs such as AfroTech and a pitch competition for Black founders at Harvard Business School, as well as won a grant from a Black Wall Street organization.

Adesanya's product for improving hand mobility, PalmPlug, was bettered by both monetary and communal support in Tulsa. Prior to joining the accelerator, Adesanya was concerned about the prototype breaking constantly. However, now he frequently receives praise for its design and quality.

Adesanya, who returned to Seattle but is considering moving to Tulsa permanently, stated that although it is still very challenging, he is immensely grateful for the Black community and their invaluable support in reaching their current position.

Evidence suggests that Black entrepreneurs face challenges in securing government grants or contracts, according to Grant Warner, director of the Center for Black Entrepreneurship. One notable example he has observed is when an identical application for a government award was only approved after the white person's name was placed before the Black person's.

‘The dreams of our ancestors’

James Lowry, author of two books on minority wealth, stated that entrepreneurship can seem especially risky to Black individuals as they strive to maintain their families' financial stability, partly due to a reluctance to forsake the security attained by previous generations when entering corporate America.

While Black people may not always have access to successful business models within their community, Lowry is excited to see more Black students pursuing entrepreneurship.

According to Lowry, who is a senior advisor on workforce and supply chain diversity at Boston Consulting Group, starting out as an entrepreneur can feel like being behind and competing against those who have been entrepreneurs for generations, even within their own families. However, he believes that it is possible to catch up and make progress.

Government programs have the potential to help level the playing field for founders of color on a national scale. For example, the Uplift Act provides resources to create business incubators on the campuses of historically Black and minority-serving universities, as well as at community colleges. However, the Minority Business Development Agency's Capital Readiness Program received more than 1,000 applications for fewer than 50 spots.

Women and minority founders are found to have higher levels of resilience due to the challenges they face and the support structures available to them, according to academic models.

Those who came before them refused to give up in the face of difficulties, which can be seen and felt by Adesanya and others who have come to Tulsa.

The founders of the businesses in the area draw inspiration from the markers and museums that commemorate the history of Black Wall Street, which helps them comprehend their place in a long line of entrepreneurs and motivates them to break down barriers for themselves and future generations.

"Our actions are the fulfillment of our ancestors' dreams and the result of their struggles," Adesanya stated.

This report was contributed to by NBC's Shaquille Brewster, Parnia Mazhar, and Andrew Davis.

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