American Experience Season 5 Episode 15 Goin' Back to T-Town

The American Experience season 5 episode 15, titled "Goin' Back to T-Town," tells the story of the rise and fall of the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, also known as "Black Wall Street."

At the start of the 20th century, the Greenwood district was a prosperous community of African American entrepreneurs and professionals. However, racial tensions in the city began to escalate, particularly after World War I. The episode explores the accusations of a young white woman against a Black man that sparked the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, in which white mobs destroyed Black businesses and homes and killed hundreds of African Americans.

The episode includes interviews with descendants of survivors of the massacre, who share their family stories and personal experiences. It also explores the ways in which the survivors and their descendants have worked to keep the memory of the massacre alive in order to seek justice and reparations.

The episode also delves into the ways in which the Greenwood district was rebuilt after the massacre, focusing on the resilience and determination of the community to rebuild despite great adversity. This section of the episode focuses on the rebuilding effort in the 1920s and 1930s, as well as the impact of desegregation and integration in the 1960s and beyond.

Throughout the episode, archival footage and photographs are used to provide a sense of the community before and after the massacre, as well as to illustrate the scope and devastation of the violence.

Overall, "Goin' Back to T-Town" is a powerful and moving exploration of a dark period in American history and the resilience of a community that refused to be broken by violence and hate.