Reviews with content warning for Hate crime - Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Important American history tracing the historical context and events of the Greenwood Black Wall Street Massacre. Hard to read but very informative. Deals with white supremacy and Black resilience

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greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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heylookitsjan's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

3.5

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readalongwithnat's review against another edition

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4.0

A really in-depth history of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The audiobook was super engaging and I learned a lot. Also had quite a bit of indigenous history that I did not expect, but enjoyed learning about.

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dhutton1997's review against another edition

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Great explanation of the evolution of the slave patrols during the 1800s to the police in the 20th century. Colbert did a fantastic job explaining the history of Oklahoma that allowed for the Tulsa Race Massacre to occur.

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library_kb's review against another edition

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challenging informative sad medium-paced

3.75

This is some hard history to hear, yet so important! One thing that surprised me was how so much of the book isn't about the Tulsa Race Massacre immediately--a lot of the book sets up the context for the massacre, which involves a lot of history about race massacres, Red Summer, etc. in other locations as well as Tulsa. The one thing that I thought wasn't necessary was the author's note/epilogue--a little too preachy and I thought the reader would arrive at the same perspective just by reading the rest of the book, it didn't need to be stated again just in case the reader "didn't get it."

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ktmomma's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative medium-paced

3.75

I am profoundly grateful for the information in this book: the events leading up to the massacre, the successes of Black Americans before the massacre, and the reaction to the massacre. However, the writing and narration were both dry. This read like a textbook (or in my case, like someone reading aloud from a textbook). Sometimes the narrator sounded automated. I would have struggled to finish this book if I had to sit still and read it, but maybe that’s my own problem. I would still recommend it to anyone looking for a broader understanding of US history and/or race relations.

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