{"id":39031,"date":"2021-02-24T22:12:23","date_gmt":"2021-02-25T02:12:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=39031"},"modified":"2021-02-24T22:12:23","modified_gmt":"2021-02-25T02:12:23","slug":"review-of-unspeakable-by-carole-boston-weatherford-illustrated-by-floyd-cooper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=39031","title":{"rendered":"Review of Unspeakable, by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Unspeakable<\/p>\n

The Tulsa Race Massacre<\/em><\/p>\n

by Carole Boston Weatherford
\nillustrated by Floyd Cooper<\/p>\n

Carolrhoda Books, 2021. 36 pages.
\nReview written February 23, 2021, from a library book
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

This picture book tells about the Tulsa Race Massacre simply, in a way that will haunt you.<\/p>\n

The book begins with pictures and text about the prospering and thriving Black community in Greenwood, Oklahoma. We see the train tracks between the Black and white communities in Tulsa, and hear about all the businesses in Greenwood, some the largest Black-owned in the nation. The business district was called Black Wall Street.<\/p>\n

Each section starts with \u201cOnce upon a time in Greenwood\u2026\u201d and we hear of all the thriving businesses and opportunities and see pictures of happy people enjoying them.<\/p>\n

There were also several libraries, a hospital,
\na post office, and a separate school system,
\nwhere some say Black children
\ngot a better education than whites.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Another page shows the \u201cgrand homes of doctors, lawyers, and prominent businessmen.\u201d<\/p>\n

A little past the halfway point in the book is a turning point in the story, on a page mostly dark:<\/p>\n

But in 1921, not everyone in Tulsa was pleased
\nwith these signs of Black wealth \u2013 undeniable proof
\nthat African Americans could achieve
\njust as much, if not more than, whites.<\/p>\n

All it took was one elevator ride,
\none seventeen-year-old white elevator operator
\naccusing a nineteen-year-old Black shoeshine man
\nof assault for simmering hatred to boil over.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The accused man was put in jail, and the white-owned newspaper urged readers to \u201cnab\u201d him.<\/p>\n

There was a confrontation on May 31, 1921 of two thousand armed whites with thirty armed Black men trying to protect the accused. That was the beginning.<\/p>\n

But then the mob turned on the rest of Greenwood and burned homes and businesses. They blocked firefighters from putting out the fires.<\/p>\n

These pages don\u2019t show pretty scenes.<\/p>\n

Once upon a time in Greenwood,<\/p>\n

up to three hundred Black people,
\nincluding Dr. Jackson, were killed.<\/p>\n

Hundreds more were injured.
\nMore than eight thousand people<\/p>\n

were left homeless.
\nAnd hundreds of businesses<\/p>\n

and other establishments
\nwere reduced to ash.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After details about the massacre, the story part ends with Tulsa\u2019s Reconciliation Park as it exists today.<\/p>\n

There are detailed notes at the back and endpapers with a photograph of the devastated and desolate community \u2013 all the more hard-hitting after seeing the pictures of the community when it was thriving.<\/p>\n

This is a sad story I only heard about last summer. It\u2019s a story that Americans should know, and this book presents the difficult truth in a way that children can grasp.<\/p>\n

lernerbooks.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Nonfiction\/unspeakable.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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