Black History Month Adult's Book Spotlight

Black Wall Street: From Riot to Renaissance in Tulsa's Historic Greenwood District by Hannibal B. Johnson is a non-fiction book that follows the inspiring and sad history of one of America's most prosperous African-American communities located in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Greenwood District in Tulsa was known as "Black Wall Street" because it was a thriving self contained economy where almost all business owners and residents were African-American. When a black man was accused of assaulting a white woman the surrounding white communities became enraged without waiting for due process. This sparked a series of racial riots that resulted in the complete destruction of the district. This tragic story both highlights the injustices of racial prejudice in the past as well as the present.