Muskogee resident Caitlyn Cravatt, 26, and her friend, 20-year-old Elejandro Walker were near the area of Trump’s rally but said they walked to Greenwood because they did not feel safe around the National Guard or “angry supporters.” “We drove over there and they started yelling at us,” Cravatt said. And we were like, ‘Why are they all the way over here?’ Because they don’t come over here besides to try to put something in our minds - to make a point.” Our hotel is over at the Hyatt - and that’s where we’re staying - right down the street from where the rally is. “It’s not working,” Anedtra Thompson said. “Or bring some type of reminder that they’re here still, two blocks away.”īut the Thompsons said any effort to intimidate failed. “Only when they pass by with all their flags to try to feel like they are trying to intimidate us,” Anedtra Thompson said. “I’m seeing Black art right here.” However, the family said there were intimidation attempts from individuals believed to be supporters of the president. “Everyone here is laid back - chilling, looking after each other, bringing up old memories and stories,” she said. Anedtra Thompson said her favorite things about Greenwood are the culture, the familiarity, the family and the environment. Thompson said he grew up in the Greenwood area, but the Thompsons and their 26-year-old son currently reside in Edmond.
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Thompson Sr., his wife, Anedtra, own Kingz and Queenz Transport, LLC. We came by a couple of Trump supporters down here, too.” “You’d notice that there were a few other people down there from the Black Lives Matter movement and everything. “The tension was real thick,” said Thompson Sr., 47.
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said he had been over to the BOK Center earlier. Tulsa residents and those from out of town recognized that Greenwood was the safest place to be. Black elders could be heard telling teenagers “not to go over there” to the Trump rally. Many were sharing laughs, with Black youth running around and eating various flavors of popsicles from Frios Gourmet Pops. Instead, couples walked to the area looking for open bars or restaurants, disappointed that the Trump rally had forced businesses to close.Ī multitude of Black individuals filled Greenwood, Tulsa’s historic neighborhood that was known as Black Wall Street prior to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Screaming, chants and the engines of golf carts carrying guardsmen could not be heard in Greenwood.
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Just one mile away in the historic Greenwood District, Black people congregated and enjoyed a community atmosphere without having to experience Trump’s rally directly. Compton, Calif., rapper YG’s popular 2016 song FDT blasted from cars circling the area, with some occupants holding signs stating “Black Lives Matter.” The Tulsa National Guard manned checkpoints at multiple locations within a half-mile radius. TULSA - In the main area around the BOK Center, vendors sold custom-made President Donald Trump memorabilia, such as red hats stating his 2016 campaign slogan “Make America Great Again” and his 2020 slogan “Keep America Great.”