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Built from the Fire
The Epic Story of Tulsa's Greenwood District, America's Black Wall Street
1 of 1 copy available
“Ambitious . . . absorbing . . . By the end of Luckerson’s outstanding book, the idea of building something new from the ashes of what has been destroyed becomes comprehensible, even hopeful.”—Marcia Chatelain, The New York Times
WINNER: The Dayton Literary Peace Prize; The MAAH Stone Book Award; The SABEW Best in Business Book Award; The Lillian Smith Book Award; The Oklahoma Historical Society’s E. E. Dale Award
FINALIST: The Hurston/Wright Legacy Award
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND WASHINGTON POST BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR
When Ed Goodwin moved with his parents to the Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, his family joined a community soon to become the center of black life in the West. But just a few years later, on May 31, 1921, the teenaged Ed hid in a bathtub as a white mob descended on his neighborhood, laying waste to thirty-five blocks and murdering as many as three hundred people in one of the worst acts of racist violence in U.S. history.
The Goodwins and their neighbors soon rebuilt the district into “a Mecca,” in Ed’s words, where nightlife thrived and small businesses flourished. Ed bought a newspaper to chronicle Greenwood’s resurgence and battles against white bigotry, and his son Jim, an attorney, embodied the family’s hopes for the civil rights movement. But by the 1970s urban renewal policies had nearly emptied the neighborhood. Today the newspaper remains, and Ed’s granddaughter Regina represents the neighborhood in the Oklahoma state legislature, working alongside a new generation of local activists to revive it once again.
In Built from the Fire, journalist Victor Luckerson tells the true story behind a potent national symbol of success and solidarity and weaves an epic tale about a neighborhood that refused, more than once, to be erased.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
May 23, 2023 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593742815
- File size: 552333 KB
- Duration: 19:10:41
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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April 10, 2023
Journalist Luckerson debuts with an immersive history of Greenwood, the prosperous Black neighborhood in Tulsa, Okla., that was burned to the ground by white rioters in 1921. Detailing multiple phases of the neighborhood’s history, he notes that by 1920, Greenwood boasted Black-owned beauty shops, grocery stores, and saloons, as well as A.J. Smitherman’s Tulsa Star newspaper, which covered topics of interest to Black Tulsa, and the Stradford Hotel, which owner J.B. Stradford intended to cater to affluent Black customers. After the massacre, Greenwood residents overcame many obstacles to reestablish the area as a rich wellspring of Black culture and business, but highway construction and “urban renewal” programs in the 1960s and ’70s splintered the community. Documenting the fight to maintain the spirit of Greenwood, Luckerson spotlights the Goodwin family, including patriarch J.H. Goodwin, who left Mississippi for Tulsa in 1913, and his great-granddaughter Regina Goodwin, the only Black woman in Oklahoma’s House of Representatives. The sprawling narrative also touches on the Black Lives Matter movement, the search for mass graves of the riot’s victims, and debates over how best to mark the 2021 centennial of the massacre. It’s a comprehensive and impassioned portrait of a community fighting for its survival. Photos. -
Golden Voice JD Jackson is his usual rough-voiced excellent self as he narrates this compelling exploration of Tulsa's Greenwood section before, during, and after the infamous Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. Greenwood was a thriving Black community until a white mob unleashed fury, terror, and flames, killing dozens or hundreds, wounding hundreds more, and destroying wide swaths of property. There are interviews and remembrances here, and Jackson portrays the true-life characters in a way that makes them more real than words on a page alone can. He is amazingly flexible with the voices of these people, both past and present. In particular, one hears the hope and frustration of descendants working to rebuild while waiting for some sort of justice. G.S. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine -
June 10, 2024
In his vibrant debut, journalist Lukerson chronicles Tulsa's Greenwood District, the nexus of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Lukerson delves into the district's history, from the neighborhood's acme in the early 20th century through its nadir, as unthinkable violence was wrought upon its residents. The author relates the area's nascent recovery, detailing efforts at urban renewal, including building the ONEOK baseball field and completing Interstate 244, which runs directly through the district. Most important, he communicates the brighter future envisioned by descendants of the massacre's victims. He highlights the multigenerational histories of several leading business families thriving in the booming Greenwood economy at the time of the massacre, drawing upon oral histories of survivors, newspaper accounts, and historical records. Actor and narrator JD Jackson offers an even, sober performance, allowing the narrative to speak for itself. His voice is soothing even when relaying the horrific events of May 31-June 1, 1921, and the innumerable injustices in the 100 years since. VERDICT A definitive account of a community's storied past. Share with listeners seeking comprehensive coverage of this important chapter in American history.--Laura Trombley
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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