1. “The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921: A Photographic History” by Karlos K. hill, foreword by kevin matthews (ou press): this illustrated volume features more than 175 photographs, plus two maps, along with oral testimonies. is intended to shed new light on the massacre from the point of view of its victims and survivors. The first volume in the Greenwood Cultural Center’s series on the history and culture of the African Diaspora, includes a foreword by Sen. kevin matthews, founder and chairman of the 1921 tulsa race massacre centennial commission.
2. ‘black wall street 100: an american city grapples with its historic racial trauma’ by hannibal b. johnson (eakin press): A member of the 1921 tulsa race massacre centennial commission and the commission on 400 years of african-american history, johnson’s latest book on the tulsa tragedy provides an in-depth look at what distinguishes the tulsa of today from the tulsa of a century ago. Along with chapters that delve into thematic discussions of various topics, the book includes four appendices, including a curriculum guide for middle and high school students.
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The winner of the 2020-2021 Arrell Gibson Award from the Oklahoma Book Awards for Lifetime Achievement, Johnson has previously published the books “Images of America: Tulsa’s Greenwood Historic District” and “Black Wall Street: From Riots to renaissance in tulsa’s greenwood historic district “about the tulsa race massacre.
3. rilla askew’s ‘fire in beulah’ (penguin books): Oklahoma author rilla askew received the American Book Award for her 2001 novel, which tells the intertwined story of two families: one black, one white: in the early days of the oklahoma oil rush. Set against a backdrop of oil boom opulence, lynching, hate and fear, the story reaches a violent climax with racial massacre.
4. ‘The Pioneer: An American City and Its Quest for Justice’ by Scott Ellsworth (Dutton): Historian and Tulsa native Scott Ellsworth’s 1982 book “Death in a Promised Land: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921” included a foreword by iconic black historian and oklahoma native john hope franklin and is considered the first complete published history of the massacre. Though it has remained in print ever since, he returned to Tulsa in 2020, working to find the unmarked graves of massacre victims. After months of unsuccessful excavations, his team found evidence of a mass grave at Oaklawn Cemetery in October, and they recently received clearance to continue their exhumation efforts this summer.
5. ‘the nation must wake up: my witness to the tulsa race massacre of 1921’ by mary e. jones parrish (trinity university press): black professor and journalist mary e. Jones Parrish (1892-1972) and her daughter fled their home in fear for their lives on May 31, 1921, the first night of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Parrish’s first-person account, along with the recollections of dozens of people compiled in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, is published for the first time for a wide audience.
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6. ‘Aamila’s Adventure: Remembering the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre’ by Tara Henderson (Rosedog Books): Tara Henderson, director of the Tulsa Public Schools Academy of Unitary Learning, recently published her first book for kids, about a girl who learns about the tragic history of black wall street during summer vacation with her grandparents.
7. jennifer latham’s ‘dreamland burning’ (little brown books for young readers): tulsa author jennifer latham’s 2017 mystery thriller for young adults delves into the story of the massacre through the dual narratives of two biracial teenagers living in Tulsa during different time periods.
8. ‘The Burning: The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre’ by Tim Madigan (St. Martin Publishing Group): First published in 2001, Tim Madigan’s harrowing account of the race massacre, is published with a new 100th anniversary edition, including a new afterword.
9. ‘The Victory of Greenwood’ by Carlos Moreno (Jenkin Lloyd-Jones Press): Tulsan Carlos Moreno invites readers to learn more about the full history of the Greenwood community through the lives of some of its most prominent figures, including John and Loula Williams, B.C. Franklin and the Rev. Ben H. Hill. Due out Wednesday, his new collection of 20 historical biographies dispels myths and inaccuracies about the events leading up to the race massacre via newly discovered primary sources.
10. ‘tulsa, 1921: reporting on a massacre’ by randy krehbiel (ou press): a veteran journalist in the tulsa world, randy krehbiel analyzes local newspaper accounts in an effort unprecedented for insight into the minds of contemporary Tulsans. He considers how the Tulsa World, the Tulsa Tribune, and other publications contributed to the circumstances that led to the massacre and helped solidify enduring white justifications for it. The new book includes a foreword by Karlos K. closed.
11. ‘magic city’ by jewell parker rhodes (harper perennial): Originally published in 1997, jewel parker rhodes’ book of historical fiction was one of the first novels set in the 1920s in tulsa and centered on the racial massacre. To mark the centennial, Harper Perennial is reissuing Rhodes’ novel of racism, vigilantism, and injustice that weaves history, mysticism, and murder into a tale of dreams and violence gone wrong. the reissue includes a new author’s note reflecting the anniversary.
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12. ‘Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre’ by Brandy Colbert (HarperCollins Publishers): To be published in October. 5, Brandy Colbert’s nonfiction book seeks to answer teen readers how the Tulsa Race Massacre happened, what exactly happened, and why the events are unknown to many of us today.
13. ‘Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre’ by Carole Boston Weatherford, Illustrated by Floyd Cooper (Carolrhoda Books): Author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Floyd Cooper provide a powerful yet sensitive introduction to the race massacre with their illustrated book for children for readers from 8 to 12 years.
14. ‘Riot on Greenwood: The Total Destruction of Black Wall Street’ by Eddie Faye Gates (Eakin Press): Tulsa educator, historian and activist Eddie Faye Gates, who was appointed to the Tulsa Race Riot Commission in 1998, delivers an in-depth account of the massacre. In 2020, Gates donated her extensive Eddie Faye Gates Tulsa Race Massacre Collection, which contains eyewitness accounts, photographs and recorded survivor stories, to Tulsa’s Gilcrease Museum.
15. ‘across the tracks: remembering greenwood, black wall street, and the tulsa race massacre’ by alverne ball and illustrator stacey robinson (abrams comicarts — megascope): with their non-fiction graphic novel, the Writer Alverne Ball and illustrator Stacey Robinson craft a love letter to the Greenwood district of Tulsa, a community whose importance is often overshadowed by the heinous massacre of 1921.
16: Shomari Wills’s ‘Black Fortunes: The Story of the First Six African Americans to Escape Slavery and Become Millionaires’ (Friendship): willis delves into the stories of six African Americans he lists as the first six black millionaires in the country, including o.w. Gurley, one of the founding fathers of Greenwood in Tulsa. The community became known as Black Wall Street until it was destroyed by white Tulsans in 1921.
Others profiled include William Alexander Leidesdorff, who built a fortune in the import-export business; Mary Ellen Pleasure, who got rich in real estate and stocks; cj walker, who built a national hair care empire; annie turnbo malone, who taught herself chemistry to build what would become the first nationally known black hair care brand; hannah elias, who built a real estate empire in harlem; and the church of robert reed, once considered one of tennessee’s greatest landowners.
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