OCTOBER 2021 - AudioFile
Brandy Colbert, award-winning African-American children’s novelist, delivers the moving foreword to her first nonfiction work. Kristyl Dawn Tift vividly narrates the truth of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, a tragic event often omitted from history books. With all the dramatic tension and horror that years of racism wrought, this contextual account explains connections such as those between the police and the KKK and the 1889 land runs and the ruthless treatment of Native peoples. The consequences of national policies like those of Andrew Johnson are also explained. Colbert’s direct, stirring writing and Tift’s sensitive but straightforward narration reveal how linked events led to a complicated web of violence. Colbert ends with a poignant afterword that draws chilling connections between the past and the present. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
★ 09/20/2021
In compassionate but unflinching prose, Colbert (The Only Black Girls in Town) recounts the events of the Tulsa Race Massacre, the intentional and violent destruction of a thriving Black community in Tulsa, Okla., on Memorial Day 1921. Like countless lynchings of Black men that began when a white woman’s virtue was thought to be in question, the Tulsa Race Massacre was prompted by an encounter between 19-year-old Dick Rowland, a Black resident of the financially successful, predominantly Black Greenwood District, and white female elevator operator Sarah Page. A fateful, still unclear, misunderstanding led to police intervention, then to a “shameful, completely preventable tragedy, like so many incidents in United States history,” reads the book’s foreword. Alternating between survivor quotes, a detailed background of Oklahoma and Black chattel slavery, and a stirring account of the disturbing 1921 events, Colbert displays an impeccable grasp of the history of segregated Black towns and communities, such as Tulsa’s Greenwood District, and the powder keg of hatred and prejudice that would eventually condemn it. Moreover, this telling of an often-excluded story is powerful in its clarity about “the violent, genocidal foundation of this country” and its continuing effects. Ages 14–up. Agent: Tina Dubois, ICM Partners. (Oct.)■
From the Publisher
"Colbert writes confidently about the truth of American history that has been long omitted from textbooks and conversations, and presents a case for acknowledging lingering racist ideas, sentiments, and assumptions and for holding ourselves accountable to overturning the harm that racism has caused. Necessary reading for any student of history or for anyone trying to understand our present." — Booklist (starred review)
"This sophisticated volume makes clear that the destruction of Black property and lives in the Tulsa Race Massacre was not an isolated incident. The clear, readable prose supports a greater understanding both of how and why incidents like the one in Tulsa happened and their exclusion from curriculum and conversations about U.S. history. A compelling recounting that invites and encourages readers to grapple with difficult history." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Alternating between survivor quotes, a detailed background of Oklahoma and Black chattel slavery, and a stirring account of the disturbing 1921 events, Colbert displays an impeccable grasp of the history of segregated Black towns and communities, and the powder keg of hatred and prejudice that would eventually condemn it. Powerful." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A must-have first purchase for all libraries; this text invites readers to engage with a difficult history that’s essential in our understanding of today’s world." — School Library Journal (starred review)
"Colbert paints a clear picture of how and why this racial massacre occurred and encourages all readers, regardless of age or race, to confront the difficult and often obscured history of racial violence in the United States." — Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"Black Birds in the Sky tells the truth about an event that every American should know about. It’s a horrifying account told with great care." — BookPage
"Colbert extends her range with this excellent nonfiction book, a welcome contribution to the growing literature about this tragedy." — Horn Book Magazine
"This essential story will help you understand our country better—both where we've been and where we need to go." — Steve Sheinkin, author of Bomb and The Port Chicago 50
"This book is a necessary read for EVERYONE." — Frederick Joseph, New York Times bestselling author of The Black Friend
Horn Book Magazine
"Colbert extends her range with this excellent nonfiction book, a welcome contribution to the growing literature about this tragedy."
BookPage
"Black Birds in the Sky tells the truth about an event that every American should know about. It’s a horrifying account told with great care."
Booklist (starred review)
"Colbert writes confidently about the truth of American history that has been long omitted from textbooks and conversations, and presents a case for acknowledging lingering racist ideas, sentiments, and assumptions and for holding ourselves accountable to overturning the harm that racism has caused. Necessary reading for any student of history or for anyone trying to understand our present."
Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"Colbert paints a clear picture of how and why this racial massacre occurred and encourages all readers, regardless of age or race, to confront the difficult and often obscured history of racial violence in the United States."
Steve Sheinkin
"This essential story will help you understand our country better—both where we've been and where we need to go."
Frederick Joseph
"This book is a necessary read for EVERYONE."
School Library Journal
★ 11/01/2021
Gr 7 Up—After generations of erasure and a concerted effort to cover up history, the story of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre is finally being told in a modern historical context. Following the alleged assault of a white woman by a Black man in an elevator, the thriving Black community of Greenwood, Oklahoma (also known as Black Wall Street), was heaved into violence and destruction when a white mob descended on the town to seek revenge. Colbert recounts the event in detail, piecing together accounts from survivors and news stories, though many newspaper articles were not recovered in full. Colbert dives into the events directly preceding the massacre and gives ample context through the founding of Tulsa, mounting racial tensions in the region and elsewhere, the aftermath of Reconstruction, and the forcible removal of the Muscogee (Creek) people from the land. Her foreword frames her own upbringing in a majority white community and flows into the many historical and cultural factors that led up to the 1921 massacre, emphasizing the point that no one act of violence against a Black community can be viewed as an isolated event. Clear straightforward text, photos, and well-organized storytelling makes this an essential read for teens and adults alike. VERDICT A must-have first purchase for all libraries; this text invites readers to engage with a difficult history that's essential in our understanding of today's world.—Allison Staley, Lake Oswego P.L., OR
OCTOBER 2021 - AudioFile
Brandy Colbert, award-winning African-American children’s novelist, delivers the moving foreword to her first nonfiction work. Kristyl Dawn Tift vividly narrates the truth of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, a tragic event often omitted from history books. With all the dramatic tension and horror that years of racism wrought, this contextual account explains connections such as those between the police and the KKK and the 1889 land runs and the ruthless treatment of Native peoples. The consequences of national policies like those of Andrew Johnson are also explained. Colbert’s direct, stirring writing and Tift’s sensitive but straightforward narration reveal how linked events led to a complicated web of violence. Colbert ends with a poignant afterword that draws chilling connections between the past and the present. S.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
★ 2021-07-13
The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 was not only a devastating attack on one community, but part of a history of violence against African Americans.
The attack on the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma, that began on May 31, 1921, was triggered in part by a mob of Whites seeking to punish an African American teenager for allegedly assaulting a White woman. However, this exploration shows that the violence that destroyed the thriving community known as Black Wall Street was part of a long history of brutality and displacement. In addition to describing the event itself and the subsequent active suppression of information about it, Colbert provides important context for the founding of Tulsa, as Muscogee (Creek) people who were forcibly removed from their land by the U.S. government settled there in 1833. The end of Reconstruction saw paroxysms of violence and the rise in discriminatory laws against African Americans, and many sought sanctuary in Indian Territory. By weaving together many elements, this sophisticated volume makes clear that the destruction of Black property and lives in the Tulsa Race Massacre was not an isolated incident. Beginning with the author’s personal foreword and continuing throughout the detailed narrative, readers are guided to see the complex, interconnected nature of history. The clear, readable prose supports a greater understanding both of how and why incidents like the one in Tulsa happened and their exclusion from curriculum and conversations about U.S. history.
A compelling recounting that invites and encourages readers to grapple with difficult history. (afterword, bibliography, sources, index) (Nonfiction. 14-18)
