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Unspeakable

The Tulsa Race Massacre

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

Audisee® eBooks with Audio combine professional narration and sentence highlighting for an engaging read aloud experience!

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards for Author and Illustrator

A Caldecott Honor Book

A Sibert Honor Book

Longlisted for the National Book Award

A Kirkus Prize Finalist

A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book

"A must-have"—Booklist (starred review)

In the early 1900s, Tulsa, Oklahoma, was home to a thriving African American community. The Greenwood District had its own school system, libraries, churches, restaurants, post office, movie theaters, and more. But all that would change in the course of two terrible, unspeakable days.

On May 31 and June 1, 1921, a mob of armed white Tulsans attacked Greenwood. They looted homes and businesses and burned them to the ground as Black families fled. The police did nothing to protect Greenwood, and as many as three hundred African Americans were killed. More than eight thousand were left homeless.

News of the Tulsa Race Massacre—one of the worst incidents of racial violence in US history—was largely suppressed, and no official investigation occurred for seventy-five years.

Celebrated author Carole Boston Weatherford and acclaimed illustrator Floyd Cooper provide a sensitive and powerful introduction to the Tulsa Race Massacre, helping young readers understand the events of the past so we can move toward a better future for all.

Download the free educator guide here: https://lernerbooks.com/download/unspeakableteachingguide


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    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from January 4, 2021
      Without glossing over important facts, Weatherford (Dreams for a Daughter) tells the historical events of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in language appropriate for young readers. Rhythmic free verse text highlights a thriving community in segregated Tulsa: prosperous Greenwood, also known as Black Wall Street, had “nearly two hundred businesses in all,” including two Black-owned newspapers and 15 Black doctors. Using oil and erasure to form spare backgrounds and realistic, detailed portraits, Cooper’s (Sprouting Wings) illustrations pull readers through the events, beginning with a white woman accusing a Black man of assault and resulting in his arrest, an inflammatory headline that incited an angry white mob, and the mob’s subsequent massacre of Black citizens and burning of the entire Greenwood neighborhood. By focusing not just on the attack, but also on the positive achievements of the Black business owners, lawyers, and doctors of Greenwood, the book succeeds in teaching the tragedy of the Tulsa Race Massacre and the legacy of Black Wall Street. An author’s note explains the impact of the event and a subsequent cover-up by the city. Ages 9–10. Author’s agent: Rubin Pfeffer, Rubin Pfeffer Content. (Feb.)

Formats

  • OverDrive Read

Languages

  • English

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