The American Experience: Goin' Back To T-Town

By 1936, the Black community of Greenwood, in Tulsa, OK, boasted the largest concentration of Black businesses in the U.S. Using interviews, archival stills from the period, and historical film footage, Goin' Back to T-Town documents the rise and fall and rise and fall (it happened twice) of the Greenwood community. The first half of the program focuses on the self-sufficient success of Greenwood in 1921: 11,000 strong, the community supported two schools, two newspapers, two movie houses, and even a library. All of that changed on May 31, 1921, when a race riot left hundreds dead, thousands homeless, and a community in rubbles. In the second half, the rebuilding of Greenwood--which should have been the focus--is handled much too quickly, as the program launches into an examination of the effects of integration on Greenwood. Ultimately, the twin movements of integration and super highway development (which, of course, never arcs through the rich section of town) destroyed the Greenwood community. There's some wonderful oral history and anecdotes here, as people remember the halcyon days of Greenwood's past, but one wishes there had been more central story to go along with the conversation. Still, Goin' Back to T-Town is always interesting, even when it's not dramatically engaging. Recommended. (Available from: PBS Video, 1320 Braddock Place, Alexandria, VA 22314-1698; (800) 344-3337.)