The Burning (Young Readers Edition): Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921

by Tim Madigan, Hilary Beard

Overview

One of the worst acts of racist violence in American history took place in 1921, when a White mob numbering in the thousands decimated the thriving Black community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Burning recreates Greenwood at the height of its prosperity, explores the currents of hatred, racism, and mistrust between its Black residents and Tulsa's White population, narrates events leading up to and including Greenwood's devastation, and documents the subsequent silence that surrounded this tragedy. Delving into history that's long been pushed aside, this is the true story of Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre, with updates that connect the historical significance of the massacre to the ongoing struggle for racial justice in America.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250823069
Publisher:	Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication date:	05/11/2021
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	939,941
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Tim Madigan has been a journalist for more than three decades, writing for the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Politico, Reader's Digest, and, for thirty years, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Tim's books include I'm Proud of You: My Friendship With Fred Rogers and Every Common Sight. He lives in Forth Worth, Texas.

Hilary Beard is an award-winning writer and an expert in book collaborations. She has partnered with many celebrities, experts, and public figures, including Katherine Johnson on her book Reaching for the Moon: The Autobiography of NASA Mathematician Katherine Johnson.

TIM MADIGAN is an award-winning journalist and author of several books, including I'm Proud of You: My Friendship with Fred Rogers. He and his wife, Catherine live in Fort Worth, Texas.

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

Prologue: Like Judgment Day xiii

1 What Do You Say Now? 1

2 Beyond Hatred's Reach 7

3 A Promised Land 23

4 A Perilous Position 41

5 May 30, 1921: The Incident 53

6 Dick Rowland Runs 61

7 Lynching Tonight 67

8 Fear in Greenwood 74

9 Tuesday, May 31: The Sheriff's Promise 85

10 Down the Road to Apocalypse 91

11 The Apocalypse 99

12 May 31, 1921: Round Midnight 107

13 Daybreak 119

14 Attack on Mount Zion 136

15 Retrospective 145

16 Dr. Jackson 156

17 June 1, 1921: Troops Arrive 162

18 Sickening Aftermath 169

19 June 1, 1921: The Assignment of a Lifetime 182

20 Thursday, June 2, 1921: A Conspiracy of Silence 196

21 Rebuilding 210

22 The Veil Lifted 223

23 Reparations 232

Author's Note 255

Acknowledgments 259

Chapter Notes 261

Source Notes 280

Resources 282

Index 287

Editorial Reviews

07/01/2021

Gr 6 Up—Eye-opening and immersive, this book is essential antiracist reading. Written by Madigan and adapted by Beard for young readers, this in-depth work of narrative nonfiction peels back the layers of the burning and massacre of Greenwood, a 35-block part of Tulsa, OK, in 1921. Also known as "Black Wall Street," Greenwood was a bustling, thriving community of Black Americans that became the target of white racist rage, violence, and destruction after a Black 19-year-old named Dick Rowland was accused of accosting a white 17-year-old named Sarah Page. Madigan and Beard weave together a complex history of the setting, beginning with enslavement times, and by peppering the chapters with perspectives of victims and survivors. These personal stories sometimes get bogged down in the depth of history that is required to set the stage for the unfolding of the deadliest domestic outbreak of violence since the Civil War. Upwards of 300 deaths, $50–$100 million in damages in today's dollars, over 1,000 homes burned, and dozens of businesses looted and torched: the reader is asked to grapple with the virulent racism of the times, which still plays out in Tulsa's systemic injustices today. As Beard notes in the introduction, readers, especially Black youth, should take caution when reading about lynching, mobs, and massacre. VERDICT Though the work is at times weighty and narratively dense, confronting this history is the only way we can move forward to a just, antiracist future. Recommended.—Jamie Winchell, Percy Julian M.S., IL

School Library Journal

★ 2021-06-11
A detailed account of the devastating 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, including its complex roots and long-term implications.

This young readers’ version of the highly regarded 2001 adult work by the same name covers the events during which the Black district of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was reduced to rubble as mobs of White men attacked, unchecked (and even joined by) by law enforcement, and hundreds of Black lives were lost. The violence was initially fueled by rumors of a White woman’s assault by a Black teenager. However, the perpetrators seized the opportunity to act out their resentment toward Black Wall Street, Greenwood’s thriving business sector, which represented efforts to create lives and opportunities denied by segregation. The incident is carefully placed in the context of historical influences such as Jim Crow laws, post-Reconstruction violence, the forced relocation of Native Americans, and the oil boom. The dramatic narrative then turns to the 19-year-old whose arrest was the catalyst, the sheriff who attempted to keep a lynch mob at bay, the Black leaders who fought for their community, and people of all ages fleeing for their lives. When the violence was over, the White community set out—to a large degree successfully—to erase knowledge of the incident. This valuable work concludes by connecting historical events to present-day systemic racial inequalities and struggles for justice.

A comprehensive, well-crafted account of a grim historical event. (author’s note, chapter notes, source notes, resources, index) (Nonfiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews