The Ground Breaking

Adult Nonfiction 

     "Over the years, however, other names have surfaced as well.  Some refer to the tragic happenings as a race war.  Others call it a disaster, the Tulsa event, or a pogrom...Today, the term of choice is massacre, as in the Tulsa race massacre."

     We generally think of cover ups as deceits organized by people in power who benefit greatly from collective amnesia.  Watergate is a classic example.  But what if, following a truly horrific event, the population of a city acts in such a way that mere decades later there is little memory or evidence left? That's the story Scott Ellsworth brings to life for readers in The Ground Breaking: An American City and Its Search For Justice.  

     In Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921 the Greenwood district was the scene of the kind of mob violence usually associated with coups in far away countries.  Invading whites killed Black residents and burned their homes and businesses after stealing everything of value.  There were even bombs dropped from planes.  The whole prosperous neighborhood that had been dubbed Black Wall Street was destroyed.

     Not surprisingly in a time when the KKK was going mainstream and enjoying renewed popularity, buoyed by the success of the racist film Birth Of A Nation, no whites were ever punished for this murder, arson, and looting spree.  In fact a grand jury blamed everything on the Blacks.

     It didn't take long for white civic and business leaders and boosters to realize that the massacre was detrimental to the image of Tulsa they were trying to present to the world.  Pictures and official records disappeared.  Newspapers steered clear of the subject.  People were discouraged from talking about the taboo topic.  

     But some secrets can't stay hidden forever, no matter how hard people try to suppress them.

     "In the Tulsa I grew up in, the riot was not discussed in the newspapers or on television, there were no books about it that you could check out of the library or purchase at a bookstore, and the ministers and Sunday school teachers at First Presbyterian Church never mentioned it, nor did the neighbors or Little League coaches or Boy Scout leaders.  Even so, by age twelve I had already caught wind that something had happened years earlier..."

     By college Ellsworth had learned about the massacre.  He made it the topic of his senior thesis.  His adviser told him there was a book in it.  His Death in a Promised Land: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 came out in 1982.

     The Ground Breaking is its very worthwhile sequel.  It goes in depth into the decades long cover up and the struggle to bring the truth to light.  It's a highly engaging narrative that at times, especially when people are searching for mass graves, reads like a mystery.

     I think we should all read this book because Tulsa is not the only place that has suppressed racist history.

On a purrrsonal note, Upward Bound is a federal program to help first generation and low income teens become enrolled and succeed in higher education.  One of its highlights is a summer residential program on college and university campuses for promising high school students.  I am interning with the UMaine one.  This year, for the first time since the pandemic began, it's mostly in person.  Of course the academic component is very important with morning classes and afternoon labs and field trips.  I was able to sit in on morning classes.  I was super impressed with the students' engagement and insights. (Jules)

This heat wave is going on much too long.  Lucky for me Eugene went out and bought a really big air conditioner.  I guess the heat was getting to him too.  It really cools down our home. (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to Upward Bound students and teachers nation wide.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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