Brookside Book Discussion

Read "The Burning: The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921" by Tim Madigan and then join us for a lively virtual discussion on Zoom. Email br@tulsalibrary.org for details to join the meeting.

On the morning of June 1, 1921, a white mob numbering in the thousands marched across the railroad tracks dividing Black from white in Tulsa, Okla., and obliterated a Black community then celebrated as one of America's most prosperous. 34 square blocks of Tulsa's Greenwood community, known then as the Negro Wall Street of America, were reduced to smoldering rubble.

And now, 100 years later, the death toll of what is known as the Tulsa Race Massacre is more difficult to pinpoint. 

With chilling details, humanity and the narrative thrust of compelling fiction, "The Burning" recreates the town of Greenwood at the height of its prosperity; explores the currents of hatred, racism and mistrust between its Black residents and neighboring Tulsa's white population; narrates events leading up to and including Greenwood's annihilation; and documents the subsequent silence that surrounded the tragedy. 

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