Dr. Olivia Hooker is the Last Survivor of Tulsa's Black Wall Street


Dr. Olivia Hooker, a retired Fordham University professor, is the last survivor of Tulsa race riots of 1921. When Hooker was only 6-years-old she survived the burning of Black Wall Street in Oklahoma.


Hooker says she refuses to call the events a riot because "whites decided to burn down the homes of 10,000 people" and instead calls it a "planned desecration." She says that her parents shielded her from discrimination and this event was her first encounter with racism.
“They destroyed everything but the crosses..they were giving us a message on what we could and couldn’t have,” Hooker says in the video as she talks about the attack.

Despite the life changing attack, Hooker became the first black woman to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard. Earlier this year, President Obama honored Dr. Hooker 's legacy and service at the 134th Commencement of the United States Coast Guard Academy.

Watch below.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

My Instagram