Short Film Honors the Legacy of Black Wall Street

Angela Johnson
·1 min read
Mildred Blocker, subject of Descended from the Promised Land: The Legacy of Black Wall Street
Mildred Blocker, subject of Descended from the Promised Land: The Legacy of Black Wall Street


Mildred Blocker, subject of Descended from the Promised Land: The Legacy of Black Wall Street

Last week, we mourned the passing of Hughes Van Ellis, one of the last remaining survivors of the 1921 Tulsa, Oklahoma race massacre, which destroyed the once thriving Black community of Greenwood. The deadly attack occurred on June 1, 1921, when white rioters burned and looted the community – also known as Black Wall Street. Homes and business were destroyed, and historians believe that as many as 300 people died in the wake of the violence.

Over a century later, while there are fewer living survivors of the deadly attack, a new short film hopes to keep the memory of the community and its members alive. Descended from the Promised Land: The Legacy of Black Wall Street, the newest episode of Black Public Media’s AfroPoP Digital Shorts online series, is now streaming on Black Public Media’s YouTube channel,

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Director Nailah Jefferson
Director Nailah Jefferson


Director Nailah Jefferson

Jefferson says she hopes the film will help more people learn about an important part of Black history and feel inspired by the contributions members of Greenwood made to our culture.

“For far too long, the full story of Black Wall Street – the ingenuity and brilliance that built it, the hate that destroyed it during the Tulsa Race Massacre, and the systemic barriers erected to impede its rebuilding – has been suppressed,” she said. “As a filmmaker, I’m grateful that the descendants of Lula Williams and Leona Carvet, women who worked and lived on Black Wall Street, entrusted me with their family’s story.”

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