Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Audiobook10 hours
The Burning: The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921
Written by Tim Madigan
Narrated by Bill Andrew Quinn
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
On the morning of June 1, 1921, a white mob numbering in the thousands marched across the railroad tracks dividing black from white in 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 were reduced to smoldering rubble.
And now, eighty years later, the death toll of what is known as the Tulsa Race Riot is more difficult to pinpoint. Conservative estimates put the number of dead at about 100 (75% of the victims are believed to have been black), but the actual number of casualties could be triple that. The Tulsa Race Riot Commission, formed two years ago to determine exactly what happened, has recommended that restitution to the historic Greenwood Community would be good public policy and do much to repair the emotional as well as physical scars of this most terrible incident in our shared past.
With chilling details, humanity, and the narrative thrust of compelling fiction, The Burning will recreate the town of Greenwood at the height of its prosperity, explore the currents of hatred, racism, and mistrust between its black residents and neighboring Tulsa's white population, narrate events leading up to and including Greenwood's annihilation, and document the subsequent silence that surrounded the tragedy.
And now, eighty years later, the death toll of what is known as the Tulsa Race Riot is more difficult to pinpoint. Conservative estimates put the number of dead at about 100 (75% of the victims are believed to have been black), but the actual number of casualties could be triple that. The Tulsa Race Riot Commission, formed two years ago to determine exactly what happened, has recommended that restitution to the historic Greenwood Community would be good public policy and do much to repair the emotional as well as physical scars of this most terrible incident in our shared past.
With chilling details, humanity, and the narrative thrust of compelling fiction, The Burning will recreate the town of Greenwood at the height of its prosperity, explore the currents of hatred, racism, and mistrust between its black residents and neighboring Tulsa's white population, narrate events leading up to and including Greenwood's annihilation, and document the subsequent silence that surrounded the tragedy.
Author
Tim Madigan
TIM MADIGAN is an award-winning journalist and author of several books, including I'm Proud of You: My Friendship with Fred Rogers. He and his wife, Catherine live in Fort Worth, Texas.
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Reviews for The Burning
Rating: 4.64 out of 5 stars
4.5/5
25 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sobering, shocking, and important. This isn't the kind of story you read to be entertained but to honor the otherwise forgotten.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I grew up in western Oklahoma and have seen newspaper tributes. This book graphically fills in the blanks in my education. I believe it is important to everyone to read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book! So much research on what Black Wall Street was really like before and after the massacre