Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Floyd Cooper. Carolrhoda Books, Thomas Allen & Son. 2021. $ 23.99 ages 9 and up

 

"But in 1921, not everyone in Tulsa was pleased
with these signs of Black wealth - undeniable proof 
that African Americans could achieve
just as much, if not more than, whites. 

All it took was one elevator ride,
one seventeen-year-old white elevator operator
accusing a nineteen-year-old Black shoeshine man
of assault for simmering hatred to boil over."

In the early 20th century, Tulsa was growing because of oil. African Americans, at that time, were working to create their own communities while also dealing with unending racism. They built their community to serve those who were not served in the white part of the city. Greenwood was a very prosperous community and became known as 'Black Wall Street'. The description of its successes is uplifting and truly amazing. 

Many in the white community were jealous of and angry about these accomplishments. All it took to put an end to Greenwood as it had been was one white teenager accusing another black teenager with assault. Tenison and hatred boiled over; a group of thirty armed Black men went to the jail. They were hoping to save the boy from lynching, and were met by a mob of two thousand armed whites. People were killed, rumors ran rampant, and the end result was the destruction of the city itself. 

"Once upon a time in Greenwood,  

up to three hundred Black people, 
including Dr. Jackson, were killed. 

Hundreds more were injured.
More than eight thousand people 

were left homeless.
And hundreds of businesses 

and other establishments
were reduced to ash." 

It was a story untold and uninvestigated for seventy-five years. Today, with the story told, changes can happen that will hopefully move people away from hatred toward hope. Sensitive, with just enough information and description for middle grade readers, this is a story that provides insight into past history. Sharing it is necessary to ensure nothing like it ever happens again. Notes from both author and illustrator provide context and a close look at this page in a troubled history. One hundred years have passed; it's time for everyone to know the truth. 

Floyd Cooper's untimely death at 65, after years of recounting chapters of history not taught in school, came after the publication of this exceptional book. I will leave you with his own words and those of his wife. 

“Everything I knew about this tragedy came from Grandpa,” Mr. Cooper wrote in a personal note in “Unspeakable.” “Not a single teacher at school ever spoke of it.”

To work on the project, Mr. Cooper shut himself inside his studio and drew feverishly for months. He emerged with illustrations that brought the past back to life. 

“It happened in the place where he was born,” his wife said. “His family was involved in what happened. It was his history. It became his last book. He put everything he had into that book.”