Hello All:
ECLECTICALLY
BLACK NEWS: Vaughn Thomas, my classmate/Brother/Friend and Fine Black
Man from Lincoln U posted this, and I had to share it. When I saw this
footage, it brought tears to my eyes and made me homesick for Oklahoma -
I'm going to share it with my family and my Oklahoma Homies, in case
they haven't seen it yet. I found it interesting that this footage
ended up with NOW THIS, instead of our many Black archives and
historical repositories. But, on the other hand, I'm glad to see that there are some pictures and action shots of my home state.
My greatgrand father, Benjamin Dulan, participated in the Oklahoma Run of 1889 (which I still call the Oklahoma Ruin, because it took land from the other side of my family - the Five Civilized Tribes. My grandfather, Silas Dulan, continued to cultivate the 86 acre farm in the County of Jones, Oklahoma, which was named after a Black settler/founder - My dad, Warner Dulan, Sr., and his siblings grew up in Luther, OK, which was part of Jones County - Oklahoma had 67 thriving, successful all Black towns, 13 of which are still in existence today. When Black Wall Street, or Greenwood (Tulsa) riots happened, Black people had guns and fought back. And it's not true that the riots were not taught in our schools; it was that they were taught from the standpoint of the town being completely rebuilt by Black people who came together to do so, and not from a standpoint of defeat or victimization. Black Oklahomans don't allow crackers to get away with anything - (at least they used to not allow that to happen - but now that the repuglycons have taken over, I do question it some times). We have always been known for sticking together, working together regardless of the issues or consequences.
I have often told my brothers and sisters from the East Coast and LaLa Land that My Black experience was different from theirs. It's true - we owned our own land, homes, schools, businesses; we were doctors, lawyers, educators, business owners. That did not mean that they didn't try to impose their racist crap on us, but we already owned our land and had guns before they came, and we weren't afraid to use them. Anything they tried to do, we just worked around it, or ignored it. And when push came to shove, kicked butt.
The great thing about growing up in Oklahoma City Black in the day was segregation was still in effect. We had all Black teachers, administrators, principals, etc. And our schools were in excellent condition, built by Black people for Black students. We studied Black history from the day we were born - it was mandatory!!! We were way more upper class than the rednecks that came from Texas, Arkansas and Missouri, so we just did what we needed to do to make sure our families had the best.
There is much to be proud of being from Oklahoma - John Hope Franklin, Rafer Johnson, Langston Hughes (born there), Diane Watson (born there) Nathan Hare, Dr. Charles V. Hamilton (born there), Donda West (Kanye's mom, born & raised there), Clara Luper (my Civil Rights Mentor), Ralph Ellison, and so many unsung heroes and sheroes who have made lifelong impressions and contributions to society. We were some bougie Black & Proud people who believed in education, homes, love, unity, Black culture, etc. I'm so proud of my Oklahoma Roots and all that red dirt and Red Blood from the Five Civilized Tribes that runs through my veins.
What is so interesting to me, and I'm sure a good number of my Oklahoma Homies, was that, when we told people we were from Oklahoma, Black people would say they didn't know there were Black people in Oklahoma. Kind of hurt my feelings. Then, it went from that to, "Do you know about Black Wall Street?" Still hurt my feelings. I was glad to see there was some awareness of Oklahoma - but it still meant to me that folks had not done their homework sufficiently and thought that everything ended with the riots in Tulsa - and the rest of the state did not exist.
Some of these old videos remind me of my grandfather, his peers, and some of the elders in my community. I'm definitely going to share this with my Oklahoma Homies - I'm sure they're going to enjoy these scenes.
My greatgrand father, Benjamin Dulan, participated in the Oklahoma Run of 1889 (which I still call the Oklahoma Ruin, because it took land from the other side of my family - the Five Civilized Tribes. My grandfather, Silas Dulan, continued to cultivate the 86 acre farm in the County of Jones, Oklahoma, which was named after a Black settler/founder - My dad, Warner Dulan, Sr., and his siblings grew up in Luther, OK, which was part of Jones County - Oklahoma had 67 thriving, successful all Black towns, 13 of which are still in existence today. When Black Wall Street, or Greenwood (Tulsa) riots happened, Black people had guns and fought back. And it's not true that the riots were not taught in our schools; it was that they were taught from the standpoint of the town being completely rebuilt by Black people who came together to do so, and not from a standpoint of defeat or victimization. Black Oklahomans don't allow crackers to get away with anything - (at least they used to not allow that to happen - but now that the repuglycons have taken over, I do question it some times). We have always been known for sticking together, working together regardless of the issues or consequences.
I have often told my brothers and sisters from the East Coast and LaLa Land that My Black experience was different from theirs. It's true - we owned our own land, homes, schools, businesses; we were doctors, lawyers, educators, business owners. That did not mean that they didn't try to impose their racist crap on us, but we already owned our land and had guns before they came, and we weren't afraid to use them. Anything they tried to do, we just worked around it, or ignored it. And when push came to shove, kicked butt.
The great thing about growing up in Oklahoma City Black in the day was segregation was still in effect. We had all Black teachers, administrators, principals, etc. And our schools were in excellent condition, built by Black people for Black students. We studied Black history from the day we were born - it was mandatory!!! We were way more upper class than the rednecks that came from Texas, Arkansas and Missouri, so we just did what we needed to do to make sure our families had the best.
There is much to be proud of being from Oklahoma - John Hope Franklin, Rafer Johnson, Langston Hughes (born there), Diane Watson (born there) Nathan Hare, Dr. Charles V. Hamilton (born there), Donda West (Kanye's mom, born & raised there), Clara Luper (my Civil Rights Mentor), Ralph Ellison, and so many unsung heroes and sheroes who have made lifelong impressions and contributions to society. We were some bougie Black & Proud people who believed in education, homes, love, unity, Black culture, etc. I'm so proud of my Oklahoma Roots and all that red dirt and Red Blood from the Five Civilized Tribes that runs through my veins.
What is so interesting to me, and I'm sure a good number of my Oklahoma Homies, was that, when we told people we were from Oklahoma, Black people would say they didn't know there were Black people in Oklahoma. Kind of hurt my feelings. Then, it went from that to, "Do you know about Black Wall Street?" Still hurt my feelings. I was glad to see there was some awareness of Oklahoma - but it still meant to me that folks had not done their homework sufficiently and thought that everything ended with the riots in Tulsa - and the rest of the state did not exist.
Some of these old videos remind me of my grandfather, his peers, and some of the elders in my community. I'm definitely going to share this with my Oklahoma Homies - I'm sure they're going to enjoy these scenes.
-2:26
844,149 ViewsNowThis
This rare footage shows what life was like in all-Black towns during the 1920s
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria Dulan-Wilson
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