nerfherder86 's review for:

Searching for Sarah Rector: The Richest Black Girl in America by Tonya Bolden

4.0

---

Fascinating story of a lesser-known story in a lesser-known (outside of Oklahoma) historical place and era: the turn-of-the-20th century oil boom in Oklahoma and how one 12-year old black girl became wealthy after oil was found on her land. White guardians were appointed to black minors who owned land like this, either because they were orphans or because their parents weren't deemed educated enough to handle the new wealth and attendant hassles; some guardians were honest but many were not. There's a lot of history to explain in this book but Bolden does her usual brilliant job of explaining it and keeping it interesting, because you need to know about the history of the Oklahoma "Sooner" land rush, the Creek Indians (Muscogee) and their black slaves; the free Blacks still being called "Freedmen" even though they were never slaves; and the early oil industry. At one point Sarah apparently goes missing, and all the newspapers sensationalize this. The author tells this well-researched story in a very lively and almost "folksy" way, for example that Sarah is "Ballyhooed" as being the richest black girl in America; that something was "the whole shebang," etc. Excellently designed book, great use of images and layout; glossary, index, extensive sources and citations. Very enjoyable and readable book.