Fact Friday: A Somber Centennial: Tulsa Race Massacre

May 31 to June 1 marks the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Like many white Americans, I did not learn of the Tulsa Race Massacre until reference was made to it by Kimberly Jones in this video uploaded last year. I looked it up and was horrified-first that it happened and then because the event was basically erased. 

Image: Lerner Publishing

I reviewed Unspeakable: the Tulsa Race Massacre, a picture book aimed at older readers to explain the tragedy here and was privileged to attend several virtual meetings featuring the author. Carole Boston Weatherford and Floyd Cooper did something extraordinary here and this book belongs in all schools. 

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

A short while ago, I got to listen to Brandy Colbert talk about her nonfiction book, Black Birds in the Sky: the Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and that book immediately got added to my next book order for the library. It's due out in October. 

New to me titles I will be adding are:

Image: Macmillan

The Burning: Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Masacre of 1921, adapted by Hilary Beard from Tim Madigan’s 2001 account for adult readers.

Image: Abrams

Across the Tracks: Remembering the Tulsa Race Massacre and Black Wall Street written by Alverne Ball and illustrated by Stacey Robinson is a nonfiction graphic novel.