Angelica Walton has garnered over 670,000 likes and 44,000 followers on the app by highlighting Pine Bluff’s rich history that many may not know about.
PINE BLUFF, Ark – A woman from Pine Bluff went viral on TikTok with her creative videos highlighting the city’s black history and calling it the new “Black Wall Street.”
Angelica Walton is @Afro_Angie_ on TikTok.
She collected more than 670,000 likes and 44,000 followers for the application. Walton has lived in Pine Bluff for six years and said she fell in love with the city when she got to UAPB for college.
“I and so many others have prayed that people would see a new light in this city,” said Walton.
She said the founder of Tulsa’s Black Wall Street, OW Gurley, was actually a native of Pine Bluff. This is the compelling story she hopes will inspire others to rethink their view of the city.
In a video, Walton cited Go Forward Pine Bluff as a great resource for economic development and change in the area.
VIDEO: A look inside the generator. An open space for entrepreneurship development under Go Forward Pine Bluff. pic.twitter.com/sW8GMGb6GE
– Jade Jackson (@IAMJADEJACKSON) June 16, 2021
“When other people don’t love it as I do, I understand where they’re from. I definitely know the concerns people in Arkansas share,” Walton said.
“But I have a feeling that if they knew the rich history here in town, if more people knew about the community’s commitment, the millions of dollars to renovate the city, then I think it would be a new one for them Would give perspective, ”she continued.
Ryan Watley is the CEO of Go Forward Pine Bluff. He said it was a non-profit organization with a public and private partnership with the city. Originally started as an idea in 2016, there are now 26 initiatives for the city.
Watley said they have implemented 82% of this in the past four years.
“Our main focus and four pillars are government infrastructure, quality of life, economic development and education,” said Watley.
The generator is one of those initiatives.
It is a space that enables small businesses to build resources and introduce new skills for the youth and community.
Mildred Franco is the CEO of The Generator.
She said in 1899 Pine Bluff ranked fourth in the nation’s entrepreneurship behind New York, Richmond, and South Carolina.
The city was a melting pot of different businesses belonging to different crowds.
Today, 77% of the city’s business structure is African-Americans, and Franco’s job is to make sure they know how to maintain, maintain, and develop the city.
“If you were an entrepreneur or had an idea, you didn’t really have room in town to say what to do next,” Franco said.
Walton said it is important endeavors and history lessons like this that people don’t often know about. She hopes these insights into history can help change the perception of her home.
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