The Black Wall Street Times held grand opening with an enthusiastic crowd

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GREENWOOD Dist. — Saturday morning, The Black Wall Street Times media organization held its grand opening at the new space, 217 E. Archer. Selling merchandise, including the Greenwood 100 magazine, the grand opening affair drew crowds on the deck in front of Times’ sign for music and appetizers.

Honored for their work as influences on The Black Wall Street Times were Oklahoma City journalist Tyreke Baker of The Black Times, Tulsa’s Tyrance Billingsley of Black Tech Week, and OKC ally Jess Eddy. The grand opening also featured Mr. Jerry Goodwin of The Oklahoma Eagle, an historic Greenwood weekly. 

“We’re so grateful to all the supporters who came out, and to reach the crowd with Mr. Jerry Goodwin, another 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre descendant, made the event even more special,” said Nehemiah D. Frank, founder and editor-in-chief of The Black Wall Street Times. Nehemiah also gave a shout-out to long-time editors Deon Osborne and Autumn Brown, as well as current writers Mike Creef, Erika Stone, Nate Morris, and Sarah Gray, and producer Ryan Fitzgibbon, along with artist Zach Frazier. 

Crowd explores new space

Supporters were in awe of the new space and quickly bought out nearly all the merchandise, which included shirts and jackets with The Black Wall Street Times logo, as well as Greenwood sweatshirts and books from Fulton Street, Tulsa’s only Black-owned bookstore, the vision and dream of Onikah Asamoa-Caesar, another Times partner and supporter. 

The crowd sipped on mimosas, iced tea, and appetizers while well-known local music artist JusFAYE performed for the crowd. Tables were set up for supporters to sit and enjoy the ambiance and the crowd, all celebrating Mr. Frank and his vision of a Black-focused newspaper that speaks to people of color across Tulsa — and the country. 

The ribbon cutting ceremony featured Mr. Frank and Mr. Goodwin, whose influence on Black media cannot be understated, said Mr. Frank. Afterwards, some of The Times writers and contributors to the storefront posed for pictures in front of the crowd. 

The Black Wall Street Times space opens Monday through Friday, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Hours will be extended during The Black Wall Street Legacy Fest this weekend.