A review by amysutton
Across the Tracks: Remembering Greenwood, Black Wall Street, and the Tulsa Race Massacre by Alverne Ball
5.0
What an important story to tell! While I knew about "Black Wall Street" and the Tulsa Race Massacre prior to reading this, I didn't know nearly as much as I thought. I love how this focused on all the entrepreneurs and investors who built Greenwood from the ground up. One man's initial investment compounded to create a community with its own grocery stores, libraries, school, law offices, theater, mechanic, dress shop, cab service, and more. This was all during the 1920s when American Jim Crow policies were widespread.
The riot and destruction happened in only a few pages, echoing how the years of progress were destroyed in such a short time. Most of the book was focused on the building and the rebuilding of the community, and the success that could be achieved through group effort and dedication. What a world we could live in if this was everyone's focus...
As a side note - I didn't realize that the Creek in Oklahoma were owners of the most enslaved African Americans collectively at this time period. In the ending essays, there was an thought-provoking history described of the victims (Native Americans) becoming the oppressors to the next set of victims (African Creeks).
The riot and destruction happened in only a few pages, echoing how the years of progress were destroyed in such a short time. Most of the book was focused on the building and the rebuilding of the community, and the success that could be achieved through group effort and dedication. What a world we could live in if this was everyone's focus...
As a side note - I didn't realize that the Creek in Oklahoma were owners of the most enslaved African Americans collectively at this time period. In the ending essays, there was an thought-provoking history described of the victims (Native Americans) becoming the oppressors to the next set of victims (African Creeks).