On Saturday, June 27, hundreds will gather in the historic Wellston Loop to celebrate Black Wall Street 314. This weekend marks the festival’s 11th anniversary in the area. The event embraces the memory of Greenwood, a Black-populated town in Tulsa, OK.
It was dubbed “Negro Wall Street” because the town was one of the most prominent and prosperous African American communities in the country with Black-owned churches, schools, community organizations as well as hundreds of businesses.
The founder of the event, Farrakhan Shegog, said the festival is called ‘Black Wall Street …’ because Greenwood “set the standard of Black thriving communities across the country” before it was destroyed during the 1921 racial massacre.
Shegog further explained: “We call it ‘Black Wall Street…’ because we’re showcasing to the St. Louis community that the value of circulating the Black dollar (in our own communities) can have tremendous impact on housing, politics, healthcare…everything that is dictated by how we spend and harness the black dollar.”
He added that the festival is a “public demonstration of how entrepreneurship, housing, youth leadership, creative talent, and ownership can strengthen communities.”
Its press release promises, “a day of family-friendly culture, community, and commerce, live music and entertainment, vendors, a community parade, fashion shows” and much more. It will also host “conversations about public safety, homeownership, entrepreneurship, youth programming and community-building activities.”
Shegog is also the founder of Young Voices with Action, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering marginalized youth and revitalizing North St. Louis. Since its inception in 2012, the nonprofit has invested more than $500,000 in home rehabilitation, public-safety initiatives, façade-improvement grants, resident leadership development, and youth programming throughout the Wellston Loop.
It seems economic development is already underway in Wellston.
In May, Young Voices with Action announced it had secured $3 million in ARPA funds toward its latest project, “Easton @ Wellston Loop.” During the festival, attendees will learn more about the organization’s $13 million, 31,000-square-foot mixed-use development project that will host residential living, retail businesses, community gathering space, and the Young Voices with Action’s future headquarters in Wellston.
Coordinators of the event say every aspect of the festival has a purpose.
“The vendors represent entrepreneurship, its press release states: “The fashion show represents the creative economy. The Kid Zone and dance competition represent investment in young people. The parade and car show represent culture, pride, and visibility and the music, food, art, and entertainment create space for families to gather, celebrate, and see the possibility of their own community.
“This is not simply programming, it’s economic development in motion!”
Singer, dancer and youth advocate, Elten “EL-TRA!N” Latham appreciates the networking and opportunity components of the festival. He’s been a participant for the past five years. Performing there, Latham said, has helped him network and establish relationships with the likes of Doug E. Fresh, the St. lunatics, AJ McQueen, D Smoke and other celebrities.
He said he fully supports the mission behind Black Wall Street 314.
“It’s a vision of what we can make possible,” Latham said. “On that day we have all the vendors, commerce and community. If we can all come together for good like we do on Black Wall Street, it would be incredible!”
Aira Durham, co-owner of Hood Alpha, luxury clothing and a vendor at the festival, recommends that people who attend the event look at it as a “celebration.”
“Black Wall Street 314, for me, is about carrying the torch,” Durham said. “I remember being in high school hearing about so many Black-owned businesses here. So, to grow up and be one of those businesses that can contribute to the community and make sure that Black dollar stays in the Black community, means a lot to me.”
The goal of the Black Wall Street 314 festival draws on the legacy of Greenwood to promote the idea of economic freedom through Black collective investment.
Shegog said, “It’s one thing to say that you’re free, but it’s another thing to have the economic willpower and the economic resources to be able to sustain that freedom.
Black Wall Street 314 details:
Date: Saturday, June 27, 2026 / 1:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Location: Historic Wellston Loop
Admission: Free and open to the public