Deep Greenwood Community Read – The Origins of Racial Violence, in Tulsa and Beyond

Note: This event takes place at All Souls Unitarian Church.

The Tulsa Race Massacre didn’t happen in a vacuum – it was seeded by the racial hatred within local government and media, as well as the white vigilantism condoned by law enforcement. This conversation will explore the politics of Tulsa before the race massacre, and the echoes of those politics we see in our national issues today. It will also draw parallels between what unfolded in Tulsa and the 1919 race massacre in Elaine, Arkansas, helping people understand that racial violence was not a local but a national phenomenon.

This event coincides with chapters 1-8 of Vic Luckerson’s book Built from the Fire: The Epic Story of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, America’s Black Wall Street, as part of the “Deep Greenwood” city-wide read. 

This series is sponsored by the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma State University-Tulsa, the Tulsa City-County Public Library, All Souls Unitarian Church, Big 10 Ballroom, Oklahoma Eagle, Black Wall Street Times, Magic City Books, and Fulton Street Books.