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Average rating4.3
A searing new work of nonfiction from award-winning author Brandy Colbert about the history and legacy of one of the most deadly and destructive acts of racial violence in American history: the Tulsa Race Massacre. In the early morning of June 1, 1921, a white mob marched across the train tracks in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and into its predominantly Black Greenwood District--a thriving, affluent neighborhood known as America's Black Wall Street. They brought with them firearms, gasoline, and explosives. In a few short hours, they'd razed thirty-five square blocks to the ground, leaving hundreds dead. The Tulsa Race Massacre is one of the most devastating acts of racial violence in US history. But how did it come to pass? What exactly happened? And why are the events unknown to so many of us today? These are the questions that award-winning author Brandy Colbert seeks to answer in this unflinching nonfiction account of the Tulsa Race Massacre. In examining the tension that was brought to a boil by many factors--white resentment of Black economic and political advancement, the resurgence of white supremacist groups, the tone and perspective of the media, and more--a portrait is drawn of an event singular in its devastation, but not in its kind. It is part of a legacy of white violence that can be traced from our country's earliest days through Reconstruction, the Civil Rights movement in the mid-twentieth century, and the fight for justice and accountability Black Americans still face today. The Tulsa Race Massacre has long failed to fit into the story Americans like to tell themselves about the history of their country. This book, ambitious and intimate in turn, explores the ways in which the story of the Tulsa Race Massacre is the story of America--and by showing us who we are, points to a way forward.
Reviews with the most likes.
Colbert did a great job with her research and making Black Birds a really readable narrative, bookended by her own thoughts in the Preface and Afterwards. The first few chapters set up historical context for this massacre, going through other riots/massacres that happened right before Tulsa and the consistent violence enacted by white supremacy anytime Black people made advances towards equality. However, this means that the actual details and story of that night and morning are much more surface than more in-depth books like Hilary Beard's The Burning. This would be a great book to start with as an introduction to the Tulsa Race Massacre for 8th to adult, but would be well-paired with more primary sources or even more detailed nonfiction accounts.
I actually don't wanna say much about this book except it's an important part of history that needs to be remembered, so do give this book a try if you wanna know more about the community of Greenwood, Oklahoma, Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre. It's a well researched and emotionally evocative book and I'm glad to have read it. And I would definitely take from it what the author emphasizes - history matters, stories matter, and it also matters who is telling these stories; also keep asking questions, never stop seeking the truth or sharing it.