What do you think?
Rate this book
Images of America: Oklahoma
Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District
In the early 1900s, an indomitable entrepreneurial spirit brought national renown to Tulsa's historic African American community, the Greenwood District.
This "Negro Wall Street" bustled with commercial activity. In 1921, jealously, land lust, and racism swelled in sectors of white Tulsa, and white rioters seized upon what some derogated as "Little Africa," leaving death and destruction in their wake. In an astounding resurrection, the community rose from the ashes of what was dubbed the Tulsa Race Riot with renewed vitality and splendor, peaking in the 1940s. In the succeeding decades, changed social and economic conditions sparked a prodigious downward spiral. Today's Greenwood District bears little resemblance to the black business mecca of yore. Instead, it has become part of something an anchor to a rejuvenated arts, entertainment, educational, and cultural hub abutting downtown Tulsa. The Tulsa experience is, in many ways, emblematic of others throughout the country. Through context-setting text and scores of captioned photographs, Images of Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District provides a basic foundation for those interested in the history of Tulsa, its African American community, and race relations in the modern era. Particularly for students, the book can be an entry point into what is a fascinating piece of American history and a gateway to discoveries about race, interpersonal relations, and shared humanity.
This "Negro Wall Street" bustled with commercial activity. In 1921, jealously, land lust, and racism swelled in sectors of white Tulsa, and white rioters seized upon what some derogated as "Little Africa," leaving death and destruction in their wake. In an astounding resurrection, the community rose from the ashes of what was dubbed the Tulsa Race Riot with renewed vitality and splendor, peaking in the 1940s. In the succeeding decades, changed social and economic conditions sparked a prodigious downward spiral. Today's Greenwood District bears little resemblance to the black business mecca of yore. Instead, it has become part of something an anchor to a rejuvenated arts, entertainment, educational, and cultural hub abutting downtown Tulsa. The Tulsa experience is, in many ways, emblematic of others throughout the country. Through context-setting text and scores of captioned photographs, Images of Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District provides a basic foundation for those interested in the history of Tulsa, its African American community, and race relations in the modern era. Particularly for students, the book can be an entry point into what is a fascinating piece of American history and a gateway to discoveries about race, interpersonal relations, and shared humanity.
- GenresNonfictionRaceHistory
223 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 22, 2014
99 people are currently reading
151 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 2, 2024
The 1921 Greenwood Massacre In Images Of America
There is so much to be learned about the history of the United States and its communities. Hannibal Johnson's book "Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District" (2014) is part of the "Images of America" series of local histories. As often is the case, a local history has broader implications for understanding our country. Johnson, an attorney, consultant, and author, has written extensively about the Greenwood Massacre that occurred in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 31 -- June 1, 1921.
With the discovery of oil, Tulsa grew rapidly in the early years of the 20th century. African Americans shared in the wealth. With the prevailing segregation and racism, African Americans congregated in a community known as Greenwood literally on the other side of the tracks from downtown Tulsa. The community was largely self-contained and became prosperous with many African American businesses, theaters, professional offices, and cultural attractions. Greenwood became known as "the Negro Wall Street". An incident in an elevator between a 19 year old African American shoeshine boy and a 17 year old white girl operating the elevator lit the fuse for an incendiary confrontation. A large group of armed white men went into Greenwood and set it on fire. Law enforcement proved unable to intervene. The fire burned 35 square city blocks and destroyed over 1200 buildings. An estimated 100-300 people died and the total almost certainly was higher. The Greenwood Massacre gradually receded from public memory and was in danger of being forgotten. Serious study of the Massacre began in the 1990s with books, films, a Congressional investigation, and a study by an Oklahoma Commission which resulted in a 2001 report, "Tulsa Race Riot: a Report by the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921."
Johnson's book tells the story of the 1921 riot, its background, and its aftermath movingly and eloquently in this short 128 page pictorial history. Johnson's approach is measured and thoughtful. By telling the history of the Greenwood District before and after the riot, Johnson sees the story as a whole and sees it optimistically as a "triumph of the human spirit." Johnson draws inspiration from the way in which Greenwood recovered from the riot and rebuilt. He wants the Greenwood story to be used to help people understand each other better and live together.
The book is in four chapters titled "Roots", "Riot", "Regeneration", and "Renaissance". The opening chapter shows a growing Tulsa and Greenwood District in the years before the riot. It features a group of Yearbook photographs of graduates from the the 1921 class at Greenwood's Booker T. Washington High School. The second chapter "Riot" includes many photographs of the Massacre itself with burning buildings, gun-toting citizens, and arrested African Americans who were carried off to camps run by the Red Cross. In the Regeneration chapter, Johnson shows how Greenwood bounced back and in the 1940s became even more closely-knit and prosperous than before the riot. The coming of integration and urban renewal ended this resurgence of economic growth. The final chapter of the book describes the belated attention given to the Greenwood Massacre with the construction of the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park in Tulsa, a Cultural Center, monumentation, and other commemorations of the incident. The book ends with short quotations from interviews with survivors of the 1921 massacre.
This book taught me a great deal. The book could be read with benefit by students or by readers wanting an introduction to this event. A bibliography or suggestions for further reading would have been useful. Johnson has done a service with this book. I hope his basic optimism about American and its future will prove well-founded and contagious.
Robin Friedman
There is so much to be learned about the history of the United States and its communities. Hannibal Johnson's book "Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District" (2014) is part of the "Images of America" series of local histories. As often is the case, a local history has broader implications for understanding our country. Johnson, an attorney, consultant, and author, has written extensively about the Greenwood Massacre that occurred in Tulsa, Oklahoma on May 31 -- June 1, 1921.
With the discovery of oil, Tulsa grew rapidly in the early years of the 20th century. African Americans shared in the wealth. With the prevailing segregation and racism, African Americans congregated in a community known as Greenwood literally on the other side of the tracks from downtown Tulsa. The community was largely self-contained and became prosperous with many African American businesses, theaters, professional offices, and cultural attractions. Greenwood became known as "the Negro Wall Street". An incident in an elevator between a 19 year old African American shoeshine boy and a 17 year old white girl operating the elevator lit the fuse for an incendiary confrontation. A large group of armed white men went into Greenwood and set it on fire. Law enforcement proved unable to intervene. The fire burned 35 square city blocks and destroyed over 1200 buildings. An estimated 100-300 people died and the total almost certainly was higher. The Greenwood Massacre gradually receded from public memory and was in danger of being forgotten. Serious study of the Massacre began in the 1990s with books, films, a Congressional investigation, and a study by an Oklahoma Commission which resulted in a 2001 report, "Tulsa Race Riot: a Report by the Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921."
Johnson's book tells the story of the 1921 riot, its background, and its aftermath movingly and eloquently in this short 128 page pictorial history. Johnson's approach is measured and thoughtful. By telling the history of the Greenwood District before and after the riot, Johnson sees the story as a whole and sees it optimistically as a "triumph of the human spirit." Johnson draws inspiration from the way in which Greenwood recovered from the riot and rebuilt. He wants the Greenwood story to be used to help people understand each other better and live together.
The book is in four chapters titled "Roots", "Riot", "Regeneration", and "Renaissance". The opening chapter shows a growing Tulsa and Greenwood District in the years before the riot. It features a group of Yearbook photographs of graduates from the the 1921 class at Greenwood's Booker T. Washington High School. The second chapter "Riot" includes many photographs of the Massacre itself with burning buildings, gun-toting citizens, and arrested African Americans who were carried off to camps run by the Red Cross. In the Regeneration chapter, Johnson shows how Greenwood bounced back and in the 1940s became even more closely-knit and prosperous than before the riot. The coming of integration and urban renewal ended this resurgence of economic growth. The final chapter of the book describes the belated attention given to the Greenwood Massacre with the construction of the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation Park in Tulsa, a Cultural Center, monumentation, and other commemorations of the incident. The book ends with short quotations from interviews with survivors of the 1921 massacre.
This book taught me a great deal. The book could be read with benefit by students or by readers wanting an introduction to this event. A bibliography or suggestions for further reading would have been useful. Johnson has done a service with this book. I hope his basic optimism about American and its future will prove well-founded and contagious.
Robin Friedman
September 13, 2021
The 100th anniversary of the horrific events in Tulsa’s Greenwood African American neighborhood got some notice in the press and on television news last May. Thus, I approached THGD with hopes that it would prove to be informative. Unfortunately, I found it to be as much disappointing as it was satisfying.
To his credit the author Johnson did provide some context via an Introduction that was 5 pages in length. After describing the history of Tulsa in general and Greenwood in particular he gave a succinct summary of the factors leading up to, the events which took place, and the aftermath of what most historians now call the massacre which took place from May 30 through June 1, 1921. The following four sections contained photos depicting these aspects of those terrible days: roots, riot, regeneration, and renaissance.
Unfortunately, the comments attached to the photos were often so brief as to be vague, at best, and of little use, at worst. For a reader like me who knew nothing about Greenwood the street scenes could have been anywhere USA. While some of the photos of the stores were labeled, many were not. There was a series of maybe a dozen high school graduates from 1921. Although they were named, nothing more was noted about them. There was one page which contained recollections of a handful of the survivors of the massacre. These, too, were extremely sparse.
Additionally, THGD lacked organization. For example, photos were sometimes out of chronological order. Some of the comments attached to the photos were redundant. There was no bibliography for those readers who might want to pursue these events more thoroughly.
By the end of the book I was thinking the following. Why wasn’t an editor more active in organizing the book? As Johnson wrote a book about this topic why didn't he include references to that text in this one? If he lacked the time or expertise to provide more information about the places and the people, why didn’t he ask a local university to recruit some of its students to do the research that would have helped make this book much more informative than it was?
Overall, with more effort THGD could have been a much more informative book. As my disappointment and frustration outweighed my satisfaction I feel compelled to rate it as 2 stars. A great opportunity was squandered.
For those interested, Alaina E Roberts, history professor at Pittsburgh University, has published a book about the history of African Americans in what was called Indian Country (modern day Oklahoma:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
Here are some brief articles by Roberts which provide some historical context about the Tulsa massacre:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/20...
https://www.historians.org/publicatio...
https://ncph.org/history-at-work/comm...
To his credit the author Johnson did provide some context via an Introduction that was 5 pages in length. After describing the history of Tulsa in general and Greenwood in particular he gave a succinct summary of the factors leading up to, the events which took place, and the aftermath of what most historians now call the massacre which took place from May 30 through June 1, 1921. The following four sections contained photos depicting these aspects of those terrible days: roots, riot, regeneration, and renaissance.
Unfortunately, the comments attached to the photos were often so brief as to be vague, at best, and of little use, at worst. For a reader like me who knew nothing about Greenwood the street scenes could have been anywhere USA. While some of the photos of the stores were labeled, many were not. There was a series of maybe a dozen high school graduates from 1921. Although they were named, nothing more was noted about them. There was one page which contained recollections of a handful of the survivors of the massacre. These, too, were extremely sparse.
Additionally, THGD lacked organization. For example, photos were sometimes out of chronological order. Some of the comments attached to the photos were redundant. There was no bibliography for those readers who might want to pursue these events more thoroughly.
By the end of the book I was thinking the following. Why wasn’t an editor more active in organizing the book? As Johnson wrote a book about this topic why didn't he include references to that text in this one? If he lacked the time or expertise to provide more information about the places and the people, why didn’t he ask a local university to recruit some of its students to do the research that would have helped make this book much more informative than it was?
Overall, with more effort THGD could have been a much more informative book. As my disappointment and frustration outweighed my satisfaction I feel compelled to rate it as 2 stars. A great opportunity was squandered.
For those interested, Alaina E Roberts, history professor at Pittsburgh University, has published a book about the history of African Americans in what was called Indian Country (modern day Oklahoma:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...
Here are some brief articles by Roberts which provide some historical context about the Tulsa massacre:
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/20...
https://www.historians.org/publicatio...
https://ncph.org/history-at-work/comm...
July 16, 2020
This is an Arcadia Publishing Company issue. These publications are generally about states, cities or events within the US. This issue is mostly photographs from the Tulsa archives and private collections. The four sections are Roots: the beginnings of the historic black Greenwood District; Riot: the aftermath of the devastation of the Greenwood District; Regeneration: the revival of the area; Renaissance: the monument dedication and recognition of the surviving victims. The images show the prosperity of this area of Tulsa and the professional men and women who built this thriving community. The destruction of the Greenwood District community is a shameful example of hatred and racism. Other books describing this event will provide the text necessary for a full understanding of this part of Oklahoma's black history.
July 5, 2020
I thought there would be more narrative.
My fault for not reading more closely. Incomprehensible destruction of life and property. Why I'm wondering, were we never taught any of this in history class?!!
My fault for not reading more closely. Incomprehensible destruction of life and property. Why I'm wondering, were we never taught any of this in history class?!!
May 31, 2021
Tulsa 1921
I chose 5**** * because it was so touching to my soul.. I would recommend this story to any race and color..,I am white but believe We are All God's Children..He didn't create Us to hate but to love one another
I chose 5**** * because it was so touching to my soul.. I would recommend this story to any race and color..,I am white but believe We are All God's Children..He didn't create Us to hate but to love one another
March 21, 2019
Very Detailed Book of the Accounts
This book takes you back to what happened before,during and after the day.It details how courageous the survivors were.This book is a great read.
This book takes you back to what happened before,during and after the day.It details how courageous the survivors were.This book is a great read.
June 10, 2020
Historical
Told the story well. Great detail in the description of the photographs. Loved the beginning and the end. Riots to Renaissance.
Told the story well. Great detail in the description of the photographs. Loved the beginning and the end. Riots to Renaissance.
January 4, 2019
A disappointment. I expected more photographs like the one on the cover—up close looks at businesses and the people who owned or were employed by them. I wanted to get a personal feel for the early 20th century Greenwood District. Instead the majority of photos are street scenes taken at a distance. Many of these were so similar—a view taken from the middle of a street of a block or two of urban buildings—that I began early on not to be able to distinguish among them. There’s also a lengthy section of yearbook photos and captions of a graduating class a high school located in Greenwood. Including all of these seemed like padding to compensate for a paucity of pictures. I would have liked much better a history of the establishment of the school which grew to have a stellar reputation for African-American students.
It may be that few photos survive of Greenwood at its height, let alone after being burned to the ground in the Massacre, but this collection is also poorly curated. The book is divided into sections before, during, and after the 1921 racial massacre and one would expect a photographic narrative of a thriving community suddenly decimated and gradually rebuilt. But the photos often don’t fit the timeline where they’re included, with pictures from the 50’s and 60’s among those from shortly before and after the Massacre.
My enjoyment of the book would only rate two stars but I’m giving it an additional bonus star just for existing. I’m so pleased to see more and more information being published about the too long ignored Tulsa Race Riot.
It may be that few photos survive of Greenwood at its height, let alone after being burned to the ground in the Massacre, but this collection is also poorly curated. The book is divided into sections before, during, and after the 1921 racial massacre and one would expect a photographic narrative of a thriving community suddenly decimated and gradually rebuilt. But the photos often don’t fit the timeline where they’re included, with pictures from the 50’s and 60’s among those from shortly before and after the Massacre.
My enjoyment of the book would only rate two stars but I’m giving it an additional bonus star just for existing. I’m so pleased to see more and more information being published about the too long ignored Tulsa Race Riot.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews