YOU’RE INVITED
The Greater Baltimore Black Empowerment Forum
featuring the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards
Saturday, May 31, 2025 | 10:00 AM – 12:00 Noon
Thurgood Marshall Amenity Center
1315 Division Street, Baltimore, MD
RSVP to blackwallstreet104.eventbrite.com
Special Guests:
Del. N. Scott Phillips (D-10)
Del. Malcolm Ruff (D-41)
Del. Sean Stinnett (D-41)
Join Dr. Al Hathaway and BMORENews.com for a vital gathering of business and political leaders at the Greater Baltimore Black Empowerment Forum — a forum dedicated to examining the State of Black Business across the Greater Baltimore Metropolitan Area, including Baltimore County.
As African Americans control an estimated $1.8 trillion in annual disposable income, and Black women-owned businesses grow at the fastest rate of any group, we must ask:
Where do we stand?
Are we at the table — or on the menu?
This conversation will explore the economic, political, and cultural forces shaping our future. The forum will be followed by the Joe Manns Black Wall Street Awards, celebrating those making a lasting impact on our communities.
May 31, 2025, also marks a solemn anniversary — 104 years since the Tulsa Race Massacre, when 36 square blocks of Black prosperity in Tulsa’s Greenwood District — famously known as Black Wall Street — were bombed from the air and burned to the ground in just 14 hours. It remains one of the most horrific examples of racial violence in U.S. history.
Sadly, Tulsa was not alone.
A Legacy of Massacres Against Black Americans
Post-Civil War & Reconstruction Era (1865–1877):
-
Memphis Massacre (1866): 46 African Americans killed by white mobs in Memphis, TN.
-
New Orleans Massacre (1866): 35 Black citizens murdered during a peaceful political assembly.
-
Opelousas Massacre (1868): Mass killing of Black people following a Republican rally in Louisiana.
-
Camilla Massacre (1868): Black marchers attacked in Georgia.
-
Colfax Massacre (1873): ~150 Black militia members murdered in Colfax, LA.
-
Vicksburg Massacre (1874): 75–300 Black citizens killed in Vicksburg, MS.
-
Clinton Riot/Massacre (1875): Political violence against Black residents in Clinton, MS.
-
Hamburg Massacre (1876): Black militia ambushed by a white mob in South Carolina.
Late 19th & Early 20th Century:
-
Atlanta Race Massacre (1906): 12+ Black citizens killed; homes and businesses destroyed.
-
Springfield Race Riot (1908): Violent attacks on Black residents in Illinois.
-
East St. Louis Riot (1917): Dozens of Black citizens murdered over labor tensions.
-
Red Summer (1919): Nationwide attacks including the Elaine Massacre (AR) — hundreds of Black sharecroppers killed.
-
Ocoee Massacre (1920): Dozens killed after a Black man attempted to vote in Florida.
-
Tulsa Race Massacre (1921): Estimated 300 Black residents killed; Black Wall Street destroyed.
-
Rosewood Massacre (1923): Florida town of Rosewood burned and abandoned.
Mid-20th Century:
-
Detroit Riot (1967): Triggered by police brutality; 43 killed, thousands injured or displaced.
These events are not isolated tragedies — they are part of a systemic pattern of violence meant to suppress Black progress.
That is why the call for Reparations is not just justified — it is overdue. Like Jews, Japanese Americans, and Native Americans who have received reparative justice, Black Americans who are descendants of enslaved Africans deserve the same.
Be part of this powerful movement.
RSVP today and stand for economic justice, political empowerment, and cultural truth.
Let us gather, reflect, and rise — together.
#BlackEmpowerment #BMORENews #BlackWallStreet #ReparationsNow #NeverForget
