The Victory of Greenwood

by Carlos A Moreno

The Victory of Greenwood invites readers to learn more about the full history of the Greenwood community, aka "Black Wall Street", through the lives of some of its most prominent figures such as John & Loula Williams, B.C. Franklin, and Rev. Ben H. Hill.
This new collection of 20 historical biographies dispels myths and inaccuracies about the events leading up to the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 via newly discovered primary sources, and shows Greenwood's local and national significance after its rebuilding, to today.
On June 2nd, 1921, the Red Cross began a relief effort from Booker T. Washington High School campus, the only buildings left undamaged by the attack on Greenwood. Meanwhile, residents started working on rebuilding their homes and entrepreneurs such as Loula Williams set about re-establishing their businesses. Attorney B. C. Franklin successfully sued the City of Tulsa, leading to Greenwood's revival, which lasted well into the late 1960s. People from the Greenwood area had a continuing impact on the world of music, the Civil Rights Movement, medical technology, and computer technology through the 1940s and the present day.

Genres: Religion

360 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Paul Manytravels · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a while, I tried being a Unitarian. Like so many religions, I found that the basic theology that created the religion had long since faded into the distant past and no longer reflected the practices of the current church.
I liked the original theology as expressed so well in this book, but my experience of the actual church did not match up. Currently, I found the church to not hold the "God as one being" idea at all; most members, at least, don't seem to see that and were, instead, atheist. What I found was an organization with no clear theology or dogma, which I liked and probably was searching for, but also with no direction or unifying vision. It obsessed over LGBT issues, becoming one more institution that made LGBT a kind of "other" and total focus of living, rather than seeing it as part of a whole or as simply a part of a person, not their whole being. In other words, LGBT people are also workers, managers, entrepreneurs, surfers, hobbyists, democrats, chefs, and everything else. The theology expressed in this book made a point of stressing that but the actual religious practice lost sight of that idea.

[Mariah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had trouble getting into this book, perhaps because I am new to Unitarian Universalism and it got into the nitty-gritty of the culture of the denomination, how churches are run, etc. I agreed with some of the issues he raised- such as need for revitalizing liturgy and developing a clearer U.U. identity.

I am glad to say though, that many of the problems he discussed are not present, or less of a problem in our church- Unity Unitarian in St. Paul. Unity is very welcoming and emphasizes stewardship, both in sharing talents and money and he claimed those were big problems in many other U.U. churches. And the congregation is *growing* not shrinking!

Of interest mainly to more experienced U.U. leaders.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

A critique of contemporary practices of worship, faith development and leadership in Unitarian Universalist congregations.