Death in a Promised Land_ The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 - Scott Ellsworth (1992).mobi

When a crows began to gather outside the jail in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on the evening of May 31, 1921., the fate of one of its prisoners, a young black male, seemed assured. Accused of attempting to rape a white woman, Dick Rowland was with little doubt about to be lynched.

But in another part of town, a small group of black men, many of them World War I veterans, decided to risk lives for a different vision of justice. Before it was all over, Tulsa had erupted into one of America's worst racial nightmares, leaving scores dead and hundreds of homes and businesses destroyed.

Exhaustively researched, 'Death in a Promised Land' is compelling story of racial ideologies, southwestern politics, and yellow journalism, and of an embattled black community's struggle to hold onto its land and freedom. More than just the chronicle of one of the nation's most devastating race riots, this critically acclaimed study of American race relations is, above all, a gripping story of terror and lawlessness, and of courage, hedonism, and human perserverance.

Providing a balanced account to remove the Veil
By Ivan Alexander on November 29, 1999

Rarely do we have an instance when a teller of history valiantly attempts to remain objective. The author has done well in presenting a historical perspective that does not seek unconscionable blame nor claim illusionary vindication. These acts of historical literary balance, lay the foundations upon which great civilizations have risen. Having heard the oral traditions of Greenwood, it would have been very easy to paint all white people with a broad stroke of UNDENIABLE EVIL, as it would have been with providing all blacks with a halo of SAINTHOOD. By piecemilling together facts, reminants of what many have sought to destroy, along with balancing the personal interviews, the author has provided the impetus for how we should begin discussing our history. As a Black American, I feel slighted, as if I have just been walking in circles, having never learned of moments such as Greenwood, which helps us to better understand who we are. It is strange how we have never seen war as a viable option, but have been labeled as the most violent and retched. Thanks to the author and his supporters, who have finally began removing the veil of America's History. May others, who set themselves upon pedestals, possess enough courage to pursue such a task.