Founder, BMORENews.com | BlackUSA.News | The Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards
(BALTIMORE – May 20, 2025) – On May 31, 1921, 104 years ago, Tulsa’s Greenwood District—known as Black Wall Street—was burned to the ground. Over 300 people were killed. Black wealth, dreams, and institutions were destroyed in what remains one of the worst acts of domestic terrorism in American history.
As we commemorate that tragedy, we must also confront our own moment.
It’s time to talk.
We, Black Baltimoreans—including our brothers and sisters in the surrounding Baltimore County—need to have an honest, unapologetic, and forward-looking conversation about our economic future. Surely, we all know what that means. Right?
I’m talking about the financial empowerment of our communities—from South Baltimore to Owings Mills to Essex and beyond. This isn’t just about poverty or paycheck gaps; it’s about ownership, investment, and long-term stability. It’s about building something our children can inherit.
We’re not without assets. Maryland has the largest Black caucus of state elected officials in the nation. And yes, we also have a dynamic, visionary leader at the helm of our state—Gov. Wes Moore, a brother who understands both legacy and the urgency of now.
And still… too many of us are hurting.
The elders say, “You have not because you ask not.” The Good Book says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” My daddy said, “A fool and his money soon depart.”
What are we building? What are we fighting for? What’s the long game?
If we don’t stay alert—right here in Baltimore—what little progress we’ve made can be wiped away overnight. You see, we’re always on guard because America is rarely kind to Black folks. We’re stopped at every gate. Denied grace. Denied mercy. Denied access.
Let’s get real: the mass incarceration rate in Baltimore is the highest in the nation. What does it say about a city when its chief export seems to be imprisoned Black bodies? And what does that say about our educational system—once a child’s best hope for a better life?
Since 1973, the Maryland State Lottery has generated more than $20 billion in revenue. In that time, we’ve built new football and baseball stadiums and now we’re rebuilding Pimlico. Yet many of our schools still don’t have air conditioning in the summer or heat in the winter.
You don’t think there’s a connection between the lack of functioning recreation centers, underperforming schools, 70% single-mother households, and the highest incarceration rate in the world?
Let’s remember: America has just 5% of the world’s population—but 25% of its incarcerated people. Nearly 40% of those are Black men. And here’s a stunning twist—Black women are now the fastest-growing demographic in prisons and the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in America.
Yes, you read that right.
There are nearly 2.7 million Black women-owned businesses in the U.S. Between 2014 and 2019, their numbers grew by 50%. That’s the kind of statistic that changes narratives—if we support it. If we resource it. If we own it.
So yes—it’s time to talk. But more than that, it’s time to plan. To organize. To unify.
The Greater Baltimore Black Empowerment Forum is not just another meeting. It’s a clarion call. On this 104th commemoration of the destruction of Tulsa’s Black Wall Street, we honor those ancestors—not by mourning—but by mobilizing.
Let’s get serious about building our own Black Wall Streets right here, right now.
From East to West Baltimore. From Cherry Hill to Randallstown.
Let’s invest in our people, our businesses, our youth, our elders, and our collective future.
Because the next 100 years are in our hands.
