Our History

The Greenwood Project was founded in 2016 based on two core principles:

Students can’t be what they can’t see.

There is no lack of talent, only a lack of opportunity.

After both working in financial services for more than 20 years, the co-founders sought to help Black and Latino students navigate the industry through exposure, education, and internship experiences.

With a pilot of five students in 2016, they found that the model was successful and began to expand the organization. Since 2016, the Greenwood Project has served over 400 students and plans to serve 200 more in 2022.

OUR NAMESAKE

Greenwood Project and alumni at Greenwood District centennial memorial in 2021.

Greenwood District and the Tulsa Race Massacre

Our name honors the historically prosperous community of Greenwood in Tulsa, OK, also known as "Black Wall Street".

The self-sustaining 1921 Greenwood neighborhood had churches, restaurants, schools, hotels, grocery stores, movie theaters as well as Black lawyers, doctors, teachers, and entrepreneurs.

The Tulsa race massacre took place on May 31 and June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of them deputized and given weapons by city officials, destroyed homes and businesses, and murdered over 300 Black residents.

The name “Greenwood Project” was chosen because we wanted our scholars to carry on the legacy, spirit, and resilience of the people of the Greenwood community in Tulsa.