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A review by ryan_oneil
The Burning: The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 by Tim Madigan
5.0
This is the story of the death of 300 or more Americans and the destruction of 35 city blocks. It is the story of the people who lived there and the people who committed the violence.
In 1921, a large section of Tulsa was burned to the ground and 300 or more Black residents were killed by the city's white residents. The white people looted and then burned the entire Black section of Tulsa. Why? It essentially came down to "because."
The author doesn't flinch in telling the brutal, horrific story. In that way, I felt that was an act of compassion toward the victims.
In the aftermath, a white reporter was talking with an elderly woman who born into slavery and had subsequently survived the violence in Tulsa. The reporter remarks, "How could this happen?" and the elderly woman replies, "How could it not?"
The author does a great job of personalizing the tragedy while also putting it into a broader context. He also, although more briefly, tells the story of the attempt to deny that this massacre happened.
In 1921, a large section of Tulsa was burned to the ground and 300 or more Black residents were killed by the city's white residents. The white people looted and then burned the entire Black section of Tulsa. Why? It essentially came down to "because."
The author doesn't flinch in telling the brutal, horrific story. In that way, I felt that was an act of compassion toward the victims.
In the aftermath, a white reporter was talking with an elderly woman who born into slavery and had subsequently survived the violence in Tulsa. The reporter remarks, "How could this happen?" and the elderly woman replies, "How could it not?"
The author does a great job of personalizing the tragedy while also putting it into a broader context. He also, although more briefly, tells the story of the attempt to deny that this massacre happened.