Black Wall Street Reimagined: The Excitement of Shared Leadership

While spending the Christmas holidays in Barbados with my mother, Greg and I came upon the documentary, Rebuilding Black Wall Street. We were inspired to see a group of Black-American entrepreneurs aspire to rebuild what was considered Black Wall Street in Tulsa, OK in 1921. It was also a beautiful depiction of our JLP Principle of Shared Leadership—the respect for and leveraging of each individual’s talent and skillset. As such, the value and contribution that each person makes is welcomed, encouraged, and empowered through a common purpose.

A six-part series on OWN, hosted by film actor Maurice Chestnut, the documentary takes us back to when Tulsa’s Greenwood District was home to a thriving economic hub—forty blocks of business activity. Black-owned businesses provided every measure of service and merchandise the community needed. This epicenter of entrepreneurial success was brought to a devasting end in May of 1921 when it was burned to the ground by a white mob looking to exact revenge for what was purported to be an indiscretion by a young Black-American man towards a white woman.

The District is now rebuilding Black Wall Street through the creative talents of entrepreneurs opening businesses along the same stretch where businesses were burned to the ground. A husband and wife design team, Jon Pierre and Mary Tjon-Joe-Pin, narrate the stories of these entrepreneurs and join them to give assistance as their talent is needed. Each episode highlights some of the forty new businesses including: Nia’s Place, a home for community re-entry for women recently released from prison; Clark-Asberry Homestead Ranch, a farm and educational center; Oasis Fresh Market, providing healthful groceries; Given Women’s Health Oasis, providing a birthing center for safe, natural birth; and Fixins Soul Kitchen—the first black-owned restaurant chain in the nation—as the anchor for the business district, hiring 100 workers.

Tulsa’s present and future are rising from the ashes via the hearts and souls of individuals who know that they can make a difference together. Their commitment and energy are fueled by a sense of purpose that brings a new narrative to replace what was destroyed. A vision of reinvigorating a rich history is being propelled by:

·       Recognizing and encouraging excellence

·       Developing and renewing a sense of community

·       Forging and synthesizing new relationships

·       Deepening the trust in what can be achieved together

·       Healing for survivors and their descendants

Lael Alexander, CEO, Noitavonne Instruments

The sixth and final episode was the grand opening of Fixins where the community gathered, 100 years to the day, to honor the survivors of the massacre, who ranged in age from 102 to 109 years old. The episode also shared a special meeting, which brought several of the business owners together to meet Lael Alexander, CEO of Noitavonne Instruments. Alexander is an inventor, product designer, and software developer—as the wall of patents in the gathering space revealed. One patent was for creating the ability to cast or stream from one device to another and a second to make payments over a mobile phone. As a Black-American entrepreneur, Alexander’s impact on the tech industry was not lost on those in attendance. This was reaffirmed as they walked through a showroom of products—medical devices, e-bikes, computers, phones, 3-D printers—it was a virtual sea of innovation.

Alexander says he is in the “business of enablement,” and to demonstrate this he set about telling each of the entrepreneurs how he would enhance their business with his technology: ultrasound imaging in a phone for the birthing center, solar panels and electric powered heavy machines for the farm, and providing jobs for formerly incarcerated women at his factories.

“Cultivating all talent together” is how Alexander frames a system that starts with the design house as the hub to spark the creation of products, leading to the development of a supply chain, followed by the construction of residences for workers—all while providing high-paying tech jobs. Alexander says that he, “gets excited about people who are excited.”

How often do we ask someone; what do you need to be successful and how I can support you in attaining it? A spirit of enablement elevates others, feeds creativity, drives imagination, and holds the space for collective success. That’s something to be excited about!