newspaper. one of my assignments was to do an historical treatment of the greenwood district. i've had this sort of obligation of service. if i'm going to live in this community, i want the community to be the best it can be. we can't do that unless we engage in the work of racial reconciliation. we can't do that unless we acknowledge our history. a black man named o.w. gurley came to oklahoma from arkansas. he bought land. he sold land to other african-americans. established his first business in 1906. businesses just proliferated and they became prosperous.