You are standing at 108 South Greenwood in front of the two-story Bryant Building. Take a moment to examine the building’s façade. Cobbled together around the doorway and window is a section of charred black and heat-warped bricks. These are actual bricks reclaimed from the aftermath of the massacre and speak to the incendiary violence of that day.

But the repurposing of these bricks illustrates something much deeper — something more profound: the indomitable human spirit.

Without help from the Tulsa Fire Department, arsonists’ fires spread and raged throughout the night. The heart of the Greenwood District burned to the ground. Only empty husks and smoldering ruins of its many businesses remained. How shocking this must have been to recently returned Black World War I veterans, who could never have imagined the “scorched earth” tactics of Germany following them home to Tulsa, Oklahoma.

But the instigators and architects of this unchecked white mob violence did not have the final say. The Greenwood District would rise again, up from the ashes.

Neatly stacked columns of bricks began to appear on sidewalks. These stacks were towering displays of courage and character — every brick an exclamation point in the community’s defiant reply.

Rebuilding in the Greenwood District began within a day of its destruction. Photographs show stacks of reclaimed bricks, some located right where you stand now, signaling the community’s immediate resolve and determination to rebuild.

“Burning them out” was not the only strategy used to dismantle the Greenwood District and scatter the collective strength of its residents. Courts rejected property loss claims against the city and state. Insurance companies denied claims using riot exclusion clauses. The extension of the city fire code — successfully challenged by attorney B. C. Franklin — threatened to make rebuilding financially impossible. White land speculators offered desperate Black landowners far below market value as families struggled to feed themselves, rebuild homes, and reopen businesses.Against all odds, the perseverance, resilience, and community spirit of the Greenwood District prevailed. The community’s best days still lay ahead, made possible by remarkable people who refused to give up on themselves.

Once you have completed your engagement here, move south on the sidewalk to the next tour marker.