The Burning: Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921

by Tim Madigan

One of the worst acts of racial violence in American history took place in 1921, when a White mob numbering in the thousands decimated the thriving Black community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Burning recreates Greenwood at the height of its prosperity, explores the currents of hatred, racism, and mistrust between its Black residents and Tulsa's White population, narrates events leading up to and including Greenwood's devastation, and documents the subsequent silence that surrounded this tragedy. Delving into history that's long been pushed aside, this is the true story of Black Wall Street and the Tulsa Race Massacre, with updates that connect the historical significance of the massacre to the ongoing struggle for racial justice in America. Contains mature themes.

Genres: Audiobook

1 pages, Audio CD

Published May 25, 2021

About the author

Tim wrote his first book in 1968 when he was eleven years old. Every week in the autumn of that year, he scribbled down his account of the latest University of Minnesota football game in a notebook. Sales were modest.

But a love of books, words and writing never left released him, leading from his small-town Minnesota upbringing to a career writing newspaper stories and eventually books that were more formally published and found slightly larger audiences.

After college at the University of North Dakota, Tim worked as a sportswriter at a small paper in that state. Then came the cop beat in Odessa, Texas, and feature writing at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. By the mid-1990s, Tim had become one of the most decorated newspaper reporters in recent Texas history (three times named the state’s top reporter), while writing about everything from sick children, to serial killers, cowboy poets, to his own experiences as a husband and father.

His first book, See No Evil: Blind Devotion and Bloodshed in David Koresh’s Holy War was published in 1993, followed eight years later by The Burning: Massacre, Destruction and the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921. In its review, the New York Times called The Burning, published by St. Martins in New York, “A powerful book, a harrowing case study made all the more so by Madigan’s skillful, clear-eyed telling of it.”

Tim’s 2006 book, I’m Proud of You: My Friendship With Fred Rogers, (Gotham/Penguin) reveals his life-altering friendship with Fred Rogers, which began in 1995 when he profiled the children’s icon for the Star-Telegram. In 2012, Tim published a second edition of I’m Proud of You under his own imprint, Ubuntu Books. The book continues to sell steadily, and inspire readers around the world. Tim also tells the story of his friendship with Mister Rogers in lectures around the country.

Fred Rogers was one of the first readers of Tim’s first novel, Every Common Sight, which was published by Ubuntu in February. It is the story of Wendell Smith, a hero of the Battle of the Bulge who came home to Texas with horrible memories of the battlefield, debilitating emotional trauma, and a secret, the one thing about the war he could not confide to the love of his life. The beautiful young woman Claire had a secret of her own. After a chance meeting, the two developed an unusual friendship of haunted survivors. But would the bond heal them, or destroy them both? The book has resonated deeply with early readers.

When not writing books or newspaper stories, Tim enjoys spending time with his wife, Catherine, being a dad, playing the guitar, coaching and playing ice hockey, and backpacking in the Canadian Rockies.

Reviews

[Andrea Frazee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook

[JL Salty · Rating 4 out of 5]

rating: pg - author did a good job of re-writing for young readers. no profanity, violence is age appropriate
recomment: jh and up.

little known - better since this book was originally written, let's be honest! - event in history. Important for ... well, everyone.

I did feel that this re-write released more of the ... frustration many African Americans feel with the current cultural temperature. This version felt a little more like a venting than a seeking to solve a problem. I still think the topic is important and kids especially should be informed about these events AND the efforts to cover it up for so long.

[Jen_Fox_Utah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book left me stunned. It recounts the destruction of a thriving Black community and the horrific violence inflicted in Tulsa in 1921—an event that was never taught in my schools growing up in Michigan. Reading it was both heartbreaking and eye-opening. The author presents the history with powerful detail. Because of shame and embarrassment, this massacre has been ignored and erased from much of our collective memory. It makes me wonder how much MORE of our history has been forgotten, overlooked, or deliberately rewritten. The Burning is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of American history. It will stay with me for a long, long time.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars
The Burning is a powerful and heartbreaking account of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Tim Madigan presents the history with clarity and compassion, weaving survivor stories with historical detail in a way that makes the tragedy both deeply personal and historically significant. I found the book to be informative, emotional, and difficult to put down at times. My only critique is that a few sections felt slightly repetitive, but overall it’s an important and impactful read that sheds light on an event too often overlooked in American history.

[Sharon Craft Viall · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sad that anyone has that much hatred for another human.