In Case You Missed It: Black Wall Street, 2022
Author: Jordan Somers
On May 30, 2022 more than 200 vendors set up shop for Black Wall Street, hosted by Africatown Community Land Trust (ACLT) on Seattle’s 23rd Avenue and South Jackson Street. In its third year of hosting, ACLT’s aim is to unite, empower and build upon black-owned businesses, land, and the overarching community.
Young and veteran Black entrepreneurs showed up en masse, sharing their stories and selling goods ranging from beauty and health products to books and apparel. The event, spanning two blocks from 23rd to 25th avenue, housed the main stage at the west end, where artists performed and community leaders gathered to inform, educate and inspire those in attendance.
The realities of gentrification and higher cost of living continue to rise, and the implications of the pandemic have only propelled the need to celebrate, restore and elevate Black culture and community to what it once was. The origins of the event stem back to the 1921 Tulsa Oklahoma Massacre, when a white mob murdered hundreds of Black residents in Tulsa’s Black Wall Street in the Greenwood District, destroying their businesses, homes, and identities en route. The massacre has left discernible, permeating effects on the Black community nationwide, and the mission to restore culture, commerce, and infrastructure continues to take precedence.
ACLT’s Black Wall Street acknowledges the palpable potential for growth and opportunity for Black business owners and for the community as a whole, as it continues to expand upon its efforts to reclaim what has always been theirs.
For more information on Africatown Community Land Trust, please visit https://www.africatownlandtrust.org/.
Please support your local Black businesses. Below is a list of some of the businesses that were in attendance: