Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Brandy Colbert
Reviewed by: Melissa Friedlund, Reference Specialist
Genre: American History (early 20th Century)
Suggested Age: Teen, Adult
What is the book about? It has only been in recent years that knowledge of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre has become more well-known. For decades, even the people of Tulsa didn’t acknowledge or often speak about it. What started as an attempt to lynch a young man accused of sexual assault, turned into a race riot that left churches, homes, and businesses burned to the ground, as well as hundreds dead. This book not only details the timeline of events that took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 1st, 1921, it first lays the foundation with an explanation of culturally significant events and practices that contributed to the mob violence and destruction that devastated a thriving African American community.
My Review: I listened to the audiobook version of this book and found it to be incredibly enlightening. This is a cautionary tale about mob mentality and the darker side of human nature, especially when it comes to race relations. I found it extremely beneficial to have the background information laid out before the author went into the description of the exact events of this tragedy. Learning about events that may be disturbing or hard to accept give us a clearer picture of our predecessors and the society they lived in. This is critically important to understanding how our society today has developed into what we see around us and can help keep up from repeating past mistakes.
Three Words That Describe This Book: Illuminating, Educational, Revelatory
Give This a Try if You Like…Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo” by Zora Neale Hurston, The 1619 Project: A New origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones, Four Hundred Souls edited by Ibram X. Kendi
Rating: 5/5