On the morning of June 1, 1921, a white mob numbering in the thousands marched across the railroad tracks dividing black from white Tulsa, Oklahoma, and obliterated a black community then celebrated as one of America's most prosperous. Thirty-four square blocks of Tulsa's Greenwood community, then known as the "Negro Wall Street of America", were reduced to smoldering rubble. And now, decades later, the death toll of what was known as the Tulsa Race Riot in more difficult to pinpoint. Conservative estimates put the number of dead at about 100 (75% of the victims are believed to be black), but the actual number of casualties could be triple that. This book recreates the town of Greenwood at the height of its prosperity; explores the currents of hatred, racism, and mistrust between Tulsa's black residents and neighboring white population; recounts the events leading up to and including the holocaust at Greenwood. Finally, it documents the subsequent silence that surrounded the tragedy. -- Publisher description.
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