Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre is a non-fiction picture book written by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Floyd Cooper that was released on February 2, 2021 from Carolrhoda Books, an imprint of Lerner Books. Lerner places the book at a fourth grade reading level and recommends the book for grades third through sixth. The book is already being lauded with recognition on the longlist for the National Book Award, a Kirkus Prize finalist, a Boston Globe-Horn Honor Book, and designated a “must-have” from Booklist (https://lernerbooks.com/shop/show/20776). Lerner also had this video on the page as well as Youtube with a chance to hear from the author and illustrator. The first few pages set up the setting to explain what first drew people and Black people to the Tulsa and Greenwood area and the segregation that existed there. It goes on to go into detail with examples of the flourishing Black Wall Street with the homes, businesses, and featured spots for several pages. “But in 1921, not everyone in Tulsa was pleased with these signs of Black wealth—undeniable proof that African Americans could achieve just as much, if not more than, whites.” Here the tone changes to the terrible events that happened in Tulsa and tells of the unfolding of those events in chronological order. The text explains how in an elevator ride a seventeen-year-old white elevator operator accused a nineteen-year-old Black shoeshine man of assault, how white folks encouraged others to “nab” him and Black men rushed down to prevent a possible lynching. There were thirty Black men and two thousand white men, several armed, that gathered May 31, 1921, by the jail. After the white men were not able to get the arrested man, they “stormed into Greenwood, looting and burnings homes and businesses,” “blocked firefighters from putting out the blazes,” and families fled. The following pages cover more of the aftermath and share that an investigation that launched seventy-five years later uncovered that police and city officials had worked with the mob to destroy Greenwood. The closing page shows Tulsa’s Reconciliation Park and says, “It is a place to realize the responsibility we all have to reject hatred and violence and to instead choose hope.” The author’s and illustrator’s notes at the back go into more facts about the events and personal connections to Tulsa. This is not an emotionally easy text to read, as much of our country’s past that was not shown to us as young people, and we learn as adults is often tragic and unthinkable. It is a powerful example of history that is not spoken of and tells the story in an accessible way for children. The illustrations are beautiful with detail, colors, and layering. It is important for us to learn of racial injustices in the past that people tried to forget. This text could be a launch pad for a range of impactful topics such as other events that tried to limit the prosperity of people of color in history or recently, researching other stories we have not been told, or tying the events into recent events and the Black Lives Matter movements. There are already a plethora of resources out there to aide in teaching or discussing this new text. In the official educator guide from Lerner written by Dr. Sonja Cherry-Paul, she states, “Research shows that by the time children first enter school, they have already made keen observations about race. Shielding them from the truth about the entrenched racist society of our past and present is to deny them opportunities to develop necessary skills to understand how racism works, as well as the tools to dismantle systems of oppression. It perpetuates racism, rather than interrupts it. Instead of protecting children from the truth, our silence contributes to misconceptions and hinders their ability to challenge and change inequities in society.” The guide encourages educators to prepare for reading by discussing identities and doing some identity mapping and establishing community agreements. It suggests doing a visual read first to focus on the illustrations and the story they tell by themselves. The guide suggests three focus themes of Resilience, Resistance, and Reconciliation after reading and has guiding questions for younger and older readers. There is then an extended activity guide for 7th and 8th grade students to view a PBS short video and then work with small research groups on a topic with some choices and resources. Some other resources include:
2 Comments
Kate Blakely
10/10/2021 02:39:20 pm
Unspeakable has gotten so much praise and is a definite must-have for every library, great book choice. I hadn't seen that video from Lerner so thank you for sharing that, I always love learning those author extras.
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Abi Avery
10/16/2021 10:06:55 am
Several books have come out about the Tulsa Race Massacre this year, probably because it's the 100-year anniversary. I've read a couple of them, but Unspeakable is probably one of the ones that hit me the most. If you get a chance, though, to read more, I also suggest Black Birds in the Sky by Brandy Colbert
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