Overview

In the early 1920s the Greenwood District in Tulsa Oklahoma is the wealthiest Black community in the United States. But Tulsa is still a segregated city. Black Wall Street and white Tulsa are very much divided. Twelve-year-old Lena knows this but she feels safe and sheltered from the racism in her successful flourishing neighborhood. That all changes when Dick Rowland a young Black man from Greenwood is accused of assaulting a white woman. Racial tensions boil over. Mobs of white citizens attack Greenwood terrorizing Black residents and businesses and forcing many--including Lena and her family--to flee. Now Lena must help her family survive one of the worst incidents of racial violence in American history.

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9781666329445

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Reviews

On Memorial Day, 1921, 12-year-old Lena watches a gathering of clouds that portends a storm unlike any ever seen in Greenwood. In this moving story told from Lena's perspective, readers learn about the African American community of Greenwood, Oklahoma, or Black Wall Street as it came to be known. Lena lives in Greenwood with her mother, father, and 16-year-old sister, Cora. Her father often reminds her that we have everything we need in Greenwood. They have shops aplenty, libraries, schools, parks, and, most importantly, a sense of community. One day, Lena's family hears whispers about Dick Rowland, a local Black man who was accused of assaulting a White woman. As racial tensions heighten, the residents of Greenwood fear White retribution for the alleged assault. The book moves quickly through the hours leading up to the massacre of over 300 Black people at the hands of White mobs and ends with Lena's family and her community trying to piece together what little remains of their lives. This well-plotted fictionalized account of the Tulsa Race Massacre geared at young readers is emotionally challenging but necessary. Smith's narrative deftly captures a child's emotional and psychological experience of the tragedy as well as the tenderness shared among Lena and her family members. Jenai's black-and-white digital illustrations, which appear every few pages, depict only Black characters and help readers imagine the historical setting. The thoughtful, informative backmatter will help adults lead discussions with children. An unflinching account of the Tulsa Race Massacre seen through the eyes of a young Black girl. (author's note, discussion questions, glossary) (Historical fiction. 9-12)-- Kirkus Reviews

Author Information

Nikki Shannon Smith is from Oakland, California, but she now lives in the Central Valley with her husband and two children. She has worked in Elementary Education for over twenty-five years, and writes everything from picture books to young adult novels. When she's not busy with family, work, or writing, she loves to visit the coast. The first thing she packs in her suitcase is always a book.

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