Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre /]Cbrandy Colbert

A searing new work of nonfiction from award-winning author Brandy Colbert about the history and legacy of one of the most deadly and destructive acts of racial violence in American history: the Tulsa Race Massacre. Winner, Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.

In the early morning of June 1, 1921, a white mob marched across the train tracks in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and into its predominantly Black Greenwood District--a thriving, affluent neighborhood known as America's Black Wall Street. They brought with them firearms, gasoline, and explosives.

In a few short hours, they'd razed thirty-five square blocks to the ground, leaving hundreds dead. The Tulsa Race Massacre is one of the most devastating acts of racial violence in US history. But how did it come to pass? What exactly happened? And why are the events unknown to so many of us today?

These are the questions that award-winning author Brandy Colbert seeks to answer in this unflinching nonfiction account of the Tulsa Race Massacre. In examining the tension that was brought to a boil by many factors--white resentment of Black economic and political advancement, the resurgence of white supremacist groups, the tone and perspective of the media, and more--a portrait is drawn of an event singular in its devastation, but not in its kind. It is part of a legacy of white violence that can be traced from our country's earliest days through Reconstruction, the Civil Rights movement in the mid-twentieth century, and the fight for justice and accountability Black Americans still face today.

The Tulsa Race Massacre has long failed to fit into the story Americans like to tell themselves about the history of their country. This book, ambitious and intimate in turn, explores the ways in which the story of the Tulsa Race Massacre is the story of America--and by showing us who we are, points to a way forward.

YALSA Honor Award for Excellence in Nonfiction

Author: Brandy Colbert
Publisher: Balzer & Bray/Harperteen
Published: 10/05/2021
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.79lbs
Size: 8.35h x 5.35w x 1.02d
ISBN: 9780063056664
Audience: Young Adult

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 9.2
Point Value: 9
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 514515 / Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre


Award: Yalsa Award for Excellence in Non-Fiction for Young Adults - Finalist
Award: Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards - Winner


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 08/01/2021
Booklist 08/01/2021 pg. 44
Horn Book Magazine 09/01/2021 pg. 114
Publishers Weekly 09/20/2021
Shelf Awareness 10/22/2021
School Library Journal 11/01/2021 pg. 90

About the Author
Colbert, Brandy: -

Brandy Colbert is the critically acclaimed author of the novels Pointe, The Voting Booth, Finding Yvonne, The Revolution of Birdie Randolph, The Only Black Girls in Town, and the Stonewall Award winner Little & Lion. A trained journalist, she also worked with boundary-breaking ballet dancer Misty Copeland to adapt her memoir into the bestselling book Life in Motion: Young Readers Edition. Born and raised in Springfield, Missouri, Brandy now lives and writes in Los Angeles and is on the faculty at Hamline University's MFA program for writing for children and young adults. You can find her online at www.brandycolbert.com.