Cooper (she goes by her last name) curates a thoughtful selection of Nike, Adidas, New Balance and other footwear thatвЂ™s bold but balanced, catering to TulsaвЂ™s sneakerhead subculture.ДЄside from being a unique store in its own right, SilhouetteвЂ™s presence on Archer Ave. But Silhouette isnвЂ™t just any old retailer. Sneakerhead and entrepreneur Venita Cooper opened Silhouette Sneakers & Art in TulsaвЂ™s Greenwood District in the fall of 2019. You'll find many of the businesses in this Guide there, from restaurants to retail shops. Today's Greenwood District is a bustling one. In 1980, a $3.5 million dollar grant was used in part to build the Greenwood Cultural Center, which remains in the district today as a testament to the community's rich culture, resilience and self-sufficiency.

The rebuilding of Greenwood began immediately after the massacre, and occurred in fits and starts for decades afterward, often hampered by municipal policies, city planning and ineffective efforts at urban renewal. Decades of accumulated wealth and commerce were destroyed, much of it never to be recovered. The massacre resulted in as many as 300 deaths, and Greenwood was completely leveled. In 1921, however, a white mob destroyed Greenwood in an overnight act of horrific violence. WashingtonВ dubbed itВ 'Black Wall Street,' for the areaВ was rich with opportunity for African-Americans at the time. As a segregated Tulsa took shape along the Arkansas River, GreenwoodВ quickly distinguished itself as the entrepreneurial center ofВ black culture and business.

Madeleine DorstД¬ommerce flowed in Greenwood early in the 20th Century. And of course, social distancing and mask-wearing are recommended wherever you go. For an exhaustive listing of black-owned businesses in Tulsa, we recommend checking out the Tulsa Black Owned Business Network's business directory. Please note that this is a curated guide limited to businesses operating in the food and drink, arts and select retail sectors, as well as a few institutional entities (such as the Greenwood Cultural Center). If youвЂ™re a consumer, refer to this guide to find great food, services, and artistic and cultural experiences.

If youвЂ™re a black entrepreneur, check out some of the groups here that may be able to help you get your business off the ground. Black businesses are now spread out around Tulsa beyond Greenwood. Because of segregation, black Tulsans couldnвЂ™t use any white businesses, so they built up their own, which turned Greenwood into one of the richest areas in America, dubbed Black Wall Street.ДЄfter white mobs in the 1921 Race Massacre leveled the district and destroyed all of the businesses in it, black business owners rebuilt over many generations. Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurship have a long, proud tradition in Tulsa, going back to the Greenwood district in the early 1900s. It isnвЂ™t a new movement by any means, but it remains an intentional, thoughtful principle to help you use your money for good and keep it circulating in the black community.

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