Nehemiah Frank loves his hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. As he grew up and learned more about the Black Wall Street Massacre of 1921, Frank took it upon himself to not only uphold but to pass down the legacies of the brave souls who survived the violent racist attacks of the early 20th century.
In 2017, Frank founded The Black Wall Street Times, a media outlet highlighting Black news, culture and features. Recently, Frank spoke to rolling out about his work and why he holds the stories of those affected by the massacre so near and dear to his heart.
What do you cover specifically at The Black Wall Street Times?
We cover social justice, health, tech, politics, arts and culture. Our heavy focus is definitely on social justice.
How would you feel if Tulsa, Oklahoma became a place where people only came for Juneteenth and then left every year?
We want people to come to Tulsa. We want Black people to go to Black Wall Street to honor the rich legacy that was, give honor to those who have lost their lives and businesses that were destroyed, and celebrate the resilience that comes after that. Us rebuilding Black Wall Street, restoring the vibrancy of the nightlife and just the Black excellence when it comes down to entrepreneurship, we want people to come and see that.
How can people support The Black Wall Street Times?
You can support The Black Wall Street Times by writing a check.
Just joking, subscribing. If you have the means to support us, then please do so. If you own a business, advertise Black. Advertise with The Black Wall Street Times, advertise with rolling out, and advertise with local Black media that’s in your community.
Is there anything else?
Here’s the juicy story- Greenwood 100. We wrote this magazine during the centennial [2021]. We actually dedicated this magazine to Michael Donald. He was a Black journalist who was living near Mobile, Alabama, and he was killed doing the same work Ida B. Wells was doing, the same work Nikole Hannah-Jones is doing. He got caught, and he got lynched for reporting on White supremacy. So, we dedicated Greenwood 100 Magazine to him.
It’s really an anthology of the entire history of Black people being in this area all the way up to the massacre and after the massacre.
One of the most interesting parts of this magazine is us exposing how organized these White supremacists were in Tulsa. It wasn’t just White men coming across the train tracks and killing a bunch of Black people. It was the mayor being in bed with White supremacists, the police being in bed with the White supremacists, the teachers, principals and doctors. The entire professional space in Tulsa in 1921 was the Klan.
