How a highway in Tulsa displaced and dispossessed Black residents

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report: How a Highway in Tulsa Displaced and Dispossessed Black Residents

Release Date: May 20, 2025

In the May 20, 2025 episode of the Marketplace Morning Report, Marketplace delves into the enduring legacy of infrastructural decisions that have disproportionately affected Black communities in the United States. Hosted by Sabri Benishore, the episode not only explores contemporary political maneuvers but also takes a poignant look at historical events that have shaped the racial wealth gap in America. Below is a comprehensive summary of the episode’s key discussions, insights, and conclusions.

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1. Navigating the GOP Tax Bill

[00:01] Sabri Benishore:
The episode opens with Sabri Benishore introducing a pressing political issue: President Donald Trump's efforts to steer a significant GOP tax bill through Capitol Hill. This bill aims to extend the 2017 tax cuts and bolster defense and border security spending. However, internal conflicts within the Republican Party pose a significant hurdle.

Nancy Marshall Genser Reports:
Nancy Marshall Genser provides an in-depth analysis of the challenges President Trump faces in uniting the GOP. She outlines the division between hardline Republicans who advocate for funding tax breaks through cuts to Medicaid—seeking to implement stricter work requirements and alter Medicaid’s federal-state funding formula—and moderate Republicans concerned about potential negative impacts on their constituents, particularly those in blue states who favor raising the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductibility.

Notable Quote:
"President Trump has to convince two very different groups of Republicans to compromise and vote for the bill." — Nancy Marshall Genser [00:28]

Genser highlights the strategic maneuvers within the House Rules Committee, including an unusual 1 a.m. hearing designed to expedite the bill's passage before Memorial Day. Nonetheless, she cautions that the Senate is likely to introduce its own modifications, and some Republican senators have already indicated their reluctance to support the House version of the bill.

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2. The Widening Racial Wealth Gap

[01:41] Sabri Benishore:
Transitioning from politics to socio-economic issues, Sabri Benishore addresses the exacerbation of the racial wealth gap in the United States. Since the tragic killing of George Floyd five years prior, the median Black family’s wealth has declined to approximately 15% of that of the typical white family. Benishore attributes this disparity to historical and systemic barriers that have hindered Black Americans' ability to accumulate and transfer wealth across generations.

Historical Context:
Benishore underscores how policies and practices such as Jim Crow laws, segregation, and post-World War II urban renewal projects systematically prevented Black Americans from owning and inheriting property. A critical example cited is the construction of highways that obliterated thriving Black neighborhoods, effectively dismantling economic hubs like Tulsa’s Greenwood district.

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3. The Legacy of Greenwood: A Case Study in Displacement

Mitchell Hartman’s Investigation:
Marketplace’s Mitchell Hartman takes listeners to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to examine the long-term impacts of infrastructural development on the Black community, particularly focusing on the historic Greenwood district, once known as "Black Wall Street."

Homeownership Disparities:
Hartman presents stark statistics: only about 32% of Black families in Tulsa own homes compared to 60% of white families, a gap even wider than the national average. This discrepancy is rooted in the historical devastation of Greenwood, notably the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, where a white mob destroyed the prosperous Black neighborhood. Survivors, including congregants of the Vernon AME Church, recall the trauma and loss endured.

Notable Quote:
"Only about 32% of black families own their own homes in Tulsa versus 60% of white families. That's even wider than the racial home ownership gap nationwide." — Mitchell Hartman [02:19]

Personal Stories:
Ruth Bolware Harrison, an 80-year-old resident, shares her family’s personal tragedy during the massacre and the subsequent loss of their businesses and homes due to highway construction in the 1950s. The creation of the I244 highway led to eminent domain seizures, decimating Greenwood’s economic infrastructure and dispersing Black families to under-resourced areas like north Tulsa.

Notable Quote:
"They owned the businesses. The people moved out and it just became a desert. When I think of my uncles that had homes back in the 20s, my father who built homes for others, where is the heritage? What did we get from it?" — Ruth Bolware Harrison [04:04]

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4. Modern Implications and Ongoing Disparities

City Councilwoman Vanessa Hall Harper’s Insights:
Tulsa City Councilwoman Vanessa Hall Harper refers to the highway-induced destruction of Black neighborhoods as the "second destruction," likening it to the 1921 massacre's long-term effects. She explains how urban planning has consistently marginalized Black communities, not just in Tulsa but also in cities like Miami and Nashville, where major highways similarly cut through vibrant Black neighborhoods.

Notable Quote:
"They use the highway system to do that. Tulsa is just one of many, like Miami, where I95 slashed through Overtown, the Harlem of the south. Nashville, where I40 took out the city's black business district." — Vanessa Hall Harper [04:37]

Sociologist Elizabeth Roberto’s Perspective:
Rice University sociologist Elizabeth Roberto adds that highway construction and urban renewal projects have historically targeted prosperous Black neighborhoods for displacement, exacerbating economic disenfranchisement.

Notable Quote:
"Highways, urban renewal projects. They were more likely to be displacing a prosperous black neighborhood." — Elizabeth Roberto [04:58]

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5. Policy Responses and Political Challenges

Infrastructure Bill and Its Aftermath:
The discussion shifts to recent policy efforts aimed at addressing past injustices. The 2021 Infrastructure Bill allocated $2.5 billion for the redevelopment of highways, parks, and street grids that previously harmed disadvantaged communities. However, Tulsa received a mere $1.6 million dedicated to studying potential solutions, a sum deemed insufficient by local leaders.

Councilwoman Harper on Funding Shortfalls:
Vanessa Hall Harper criticizes the lack of substantial financial support needed to repair economic damages inflicted by past infrastructure projects.

Notable Quote:
"We have not seen anything significant." — Vanessa Hall Harper [05:30]

Political Opposition:
Further complicating the issue, the Trump administration and Republicans in Congress are actively seeking to dismantle or cancel racial equity initiatives within infrastructure programs established during the Biden administration. This political pushback threatens the continuation and expansion of efforts to mitigate historical inequities.

Conclusion of the Segment:
Mitchell Hartman wraps up his investigation, emphasizing the uncertain future of reparative measures in Tulsa and beyond, amidst ongoing political resistance.

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6. Looking Ahead: Further Exploration of Black Prosperity

[05:48] Sabri Benishore:
As the episode concludes, Sabri Benishore teases the next installment in Marketplace’s series on obstacles to Black prosperity in America. The forthcoming episode will explore how significant federal job cuts could undermine a critical pathway for Black families striving for financial stability.

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Final Thoughts

The May 20th episode of the Marketplace Morning Report intricately weaves together current political dynamics with historical injustices to shed light on the persistent challenges facing Black communities in America. By highlighting the specific case of Tulsa’s Greenwood district, the podcast underscores how infrastructural decisions have long-term socio-economic repercussions, contributing to the widening racial wealth gap. The episode calls attention to the need for meaningful policy interventions and sustained political will to address and rectify these enduring inequities.

Listeners are left with a nuanced understanding of how past and present policies intersect to shape the economic realities of Black Americans, emphasizing the importance of informed civic engagement and advocacy in forging pathways toward greater equity and prosperity.

Transcript

[Sabri Benishore]

The racial wealth gap in the US has grown wider. From Marketplace, I'm Sabri Benishore in for David Brancaccio. First up, President Donald Trump is headed to Capitol Hill this morning to try to get the big GOP tax bill over the finish line. It would, among other things, extend the 2017 tax cuts and increase defense and border security spending. Trump is scheduled to address House Republicans who are having trouble ironing out their differences. Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genser has more.

[Nancy Marshall Genser]

President Trump has to convince two very different groups of Republicans to compromise and vote for the bill. In one corner, there are the hardliners. They want to partly pay for the tax breaks with cuts to Medicaid. They want to speed up work requirements for some Medicaid recipients and change the formula that determines how much the federal government pays states for Medicaid. In the opposite corner, moderate Republicans. They're worried their constituents would be kicked off of Medicaid. Blue state moderates want a cap on the deductibility of state and local taxes to be raised. The House Rules Committee has scheduled an unusual 1am hearing for tomorrow to consider changes to the bill. That's designed to tee the legislation up for a full House vote before Memorial Day. Once the bill finishes its long slog through the House, it heads to the Senate, which is expected to make its own changes. Some Republican senators have already said they won't vote for the House version. I'm Nancy Marshall Genser for Marketplace.

[Sabri Benishore]

The killing of George Floyd five years ago drew attention to racial inequality in the US and since then, the wealth gap between black and white Americans has actually widened. The median black family now holds about 15% as much wealth as the typical white family. History laid the groundwork for this. Over generations, black Americans were blocked from acquiring and passing on homes and businesses, by Jim Crow violence and segregation, and after World War II, by highway building and urban renewal that ravaged thriving black neighborhoods. Marketplaces Mitchell Hartman looks at how that played out in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Only about 32% of black families own their own homes in Tulsa versus 60% of white families. That's even wider than the racial home ownership gap nationwide. To understand some of the history behind this, I headed to Vernon AME Church in the historic Greenwood district known as black Wall street in the early 1900s.

[Unnamed Congregant]

In Jesus name we pray, and the people of God said Amen. Amen. Amen.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Today, the stately brick church is surrounded by vacant lots and a freeway overpass. Back in 1921, it was at the heart of a booming business district. That year, some black Residents survived the Tulsa race massacre by hiding in the church basement while a white mob looted and burned the rest of Greenwood. There are congregants today who remember the impact.

[Ruth Bolware Harrison]

I'm Ruth bolware Harrison. I'm 80 years old.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Harrison had two uncles, Abe and John.

[Ruth Bolware Harrison]

That had homes destroyed during the race riot. Abe, we never knew what happened to him. Presumably he was killed.

[Mitchell Hartman]

But in time, the community largely rebuilt. By the 1940s, Greenwood was thriving again.

[Ruth Bolware Harrison]

My father, Ben Bower, and my mother, Tanoia, owned a store called One Stop, where you could get everything that you wanted. The meat market, fresh food.

[Mitchell Hartman]

But prosperity didn't last. In the early 1950s, a new highway, I244, cut right through Greenwood. The family lost their home and store to eminent domain, along with rental apartments and juke joints.

[Ruth Bolware Harrison]

They owned the businesses. The people moved out and it just became a desert. When I think of my uncles that had homes back in the 20s, my father who built homes for others, where is the heritage? What did we get from it?

[Mitchell Hartman]

Tulsa City Councilwoman Vanessa Hall Harper represents north Tulsa, where most of the displaced black families moved. Economically, it never really recovered following the destruction of the 1921 race massacre.

[Vanessa Hall Harper]

She calls this the second destruction. They use the highway system to do that. Tulsa is just one of many, like.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Miami, where I95 slashed through Overtown, the Harlem of the south. Nashville, where i40 took out the city's black business district. And the list goes on, says Rice University sociologist Elizabeth Roberto.

[Elizabeth Roberto]

Highways, urban renewal projects. They were more likely to be displacing a prosperous black neighborhood.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Lately, this lost black prosperity has gotten some political attention. The 2021 Infrastructure Bill included $2.5 billion to plan and rebuild highways, parks and street grids that harmed disadvantaged communities. Tulsa got $1.6 million to study solutions. But as far as money to repair the economic damage, Councilwoman Hall Harper says.

[Vanessa Hall Harper]

We have not seen anything significant.

[Mitchell Hartman]

Whether they will in Tulsa or elsewhere is in doubt. The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress have targeted those Biden era racial equity in infrastructure programs for cancellation. I'm Mitchell Hartman for Marketplace.

[Sabri Benishore]

You can tune in tomorrow for the final installment of our series on obstacles to black prosperity in America. Mitchell looks at how sweeping federal job cuts threaten a key pathway for black families to achieve financial security. In New York, I'm Sabri Benishore with the Marketplace Morning report from APM American Public Media.