The Tulsa-fication of America: How America Always Rebrands Progress as a Threat to Keep Black Folks in Check
America loves magic.
And I’d argue that one of the greatest magic tricks isn’t just pulling the rug out from under Black people.
It’s getting us to entertain them while they do it.
Every time we dance, every time we sing or play ball on the world’s biggest stages, they’re in the background moving the goalposts.
They smile. They clap. They throw us a little money and pat us on the back.
Then they change the rules.
The moment Black people start to make progress, the system recalibrates.
The promise of equality comes with strings.
They dangle opportunity in front of us and then snatch it away with new laws, new policies, and new narratives.
It’s a game they’ve been running for centuries.
It’s the same script, over and over again: distract with applause, dismantle the progress, justify the setback.
This isn’t just history.
It’s the Tulsa-fication of America.
And the goalposts always move.
1865: Mules, Myths, and Missed Promises — Freedom Came Wrapped in Lies, and 40 Acres Stayed a Fantasy.
“The Negro is free, but he must be reminded that he is not on an equality with the white man.” — President Andrew Johnson
The Civil War ends, and freedom begins… on paper.
Black Americans are promised “40 acres and a mule” — a shot at building something real.
But before the seeds can take root, the promise is revoked.
Land was returned to former Confederate slave owners.
Black people were left to fend for themselves.
Meanwhile, Black minstrels are entertaining white audiences.
Just a’ singing and a’ dancing and smiling.
The same people clapping for them are the ones rewriting the laws to make sure they stay powerless.
The goalposts moved.
1870s: Reconstruction Begins with Hope and Ends with Black Americans Rebuilding from Scraps. Jim Crow’s Curtain Call”
“If you educate a n*gger, you spoil a good field hand.” — Governor James K. Vardaman
Reconstruction brought progress.
Black politicians took office.
Black businesses flourished.
Communities thrived.
But progress always makes the system uncomfortable.
Enter Jim Crow.
Segregation laws tore through the South like wildfire, dismantling every gain.
And still, Booker & Clayton’s Georgia Minstrels hit the stages.
White audiences clapped, cheered, and at the same time made sure those same performers can’t vote, own land, or build wealth.
Reconstruction’s promise was crushed through the introduction of Jim Crow.
The goal posts moved.
1921: Flames, Fury, and Fragile Feelings: Black Wall Street Burned Because Racist Americans Couldn’t Handle Black Excellence.
“We’re running the Negro out of Tulsa.” — Postcard circulated after the massacre.
Greenwood, Tulsa, Oklahoma — Black Wall Street was a self-made Black utopia and in a symbolic way, a Grandmother to Wakanda.
Banks, theaters, and schools were all Black-owned and operated.
But because Black success is always a threat, White mobs burned it all to the ground in one night.
Hundreds were killed and thousands were left homeless.
One headline said: “Tulsa shocked America,” but you know who it didn’t shock?
Black folks.
White people even took ownership of the burned and abandoned homes and it was completely supported by the local White politicians.
And believe it or not, even as Greenwood smoldered, Black jazz bands kept playing in white-owned clubs in the region.
White folks likely applauded those performers, but the message was clear: Black success is only acceptable when it’s entertainment.
Black Wall Street was erased, and the blueprint for Black independence was buried with it.
The goalposts moved again.
1960s: “Marches, Melodies, and Mass Incarceration”
“Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” — Governor George Wallace
The civil rights movement sang of freedom, but the system rewrote the lyrics.
The civil rights movement forced America to confront itself.
Black people marched, protested, and fought for equality.
And they won.
On paper, at least.
But the system adapted.
The American government killed Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and John F. Kennedy.
Introduced redlining, voter suppression, and mass incarceration.
The chains weren’t gone — they were just invisible now.
At the same time, stars like Sammy Davis Jr. performed at presidential events.
White America smiled, clapped, and said, “You’re one of the good ones,” while quietly rebuilding the barriers to equity.
The goalposts moved again.
2020: “Squares, Statements, and Short-Lived Solidarity”
“When the looting starts, the shooting starts.” — President Donald Trump
2020 was chaos: the global pandemic and the murder of George Floyd sparked marches, protests, and chants for justice.
Corporations quickly posted black squares and promised inclusion, giving people of color hope that, maybe this time, things would change.
But progress made White America squirm like they just got caught sneaking raisins into potato salad at the fish fry.
Those black squares of solidarity came down faster than a Kardashian skirt at an NBA draft after-party.
But at least those black squares looked supportive while on their Instagram grid for a hot minute, right?
And then there’s Donald Trump, stoking fear like it’s his personal side hustle because it’s Donald Trump.
Here’s the big takeaway: brands don’t give AF about equity or equality.
They just give us vibes until the hashtags stop trending.
And yes, the goalposts moved again.
2025: “Woke, Weaponized, and the Return of MAGA at Everyone Else’s Expense”
“I won’t stop until we remove every DEI program in America.” — President Donald Trump
DEI has been completely rebranded as a slur — woke.
And people toss ‘woke’ around like it’s a ticking time bomb that will lead to actual lynchings.
You know, the kind that really happened to Black people.
But yeah, let’s focus on how woke is the real danger here.
It’s the same energy America has — just dressed up in new language.
After being sworn in again, DJT began dismantling Civil Rights Era Equal Opportunity protections, rolling back all DEI initiatives, and even targeting birthright citizenship.
The pendulum swings forward with progress, and America jerks it back with a vengeance.
Sure, DEI got hijacked by pronoun debates — definitely not the hill to die on — and the whole thing spiraled into arguments about trans women in women’s sports, which is just absurd.
But to throw the baby out with the bathwater is an overreaction as American as apple pie
Meanwhile, Snoop, Nelly, Rick Ross, and the crew shucked and jived and entertained them on the stage, while behind the curtain, progress is being signed away with every stroke of a pen.
The show must go on, right?
Except it’s the same show we’ve been watching for centuries.
Different cast, same script.
Let me wrap this up.
The goalposts will always move.
They’ll call it “fairness,” “balance,” “meritocracy,” or “Making America Great Again” but it’s the same playbook we’ve seen for centuries.
So what’s the answer?
Not working within their system.
It wasn’t built for us.
We can’t keep playing their game, hoping they’ll eventually level the playing field because they won’t.
The only way forward is to create our own ecosystem.
Like Tyler Perry said — “Build our own table.”
When will we, the Black entrepreneurs, entertainers, athletes, blue and white-collar workers, and politicians realize that we have to unite.
When will we stop chasing individual success and start focusing on our communities?
When will we stop performing for applause from White people who are only comfortable with Black excellence in sports, music, and entertainment?
When will we stop waiting for someone to save us and start saving ourselves?
Brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen — it’s time to wake up.
The Tulsa-fication of America isn’t just a story from the past.
It’s happening now.
And if we don’t change the game, we’ll keep losing.
At the end of the day, if we don’t stop dancing to their tune and start writing our own, we’ll spend the next century performing for applause that was never meant to set us free.
