In the early 1920s, the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the
wealthiest Black community in the United States. But Tulsa is still a
segregated city. "Black Wall Street" and white Tulsa are very much
divided. Twelve-year-old Lena knows this, but she feels safe and
sheltered from the racism in her successful, flourishing neighborhood.
That all changes when Dick Rowland, a young Black man from Greenwood, is
accused of assaulting a white woman. Racial tensions boil over. Mobs of
white citizens attack Greenwood, terrorizing Black residents and
businesses, and forcing many--including Lena and her family--to flee.
Now Lena must help her family survive one of the worst incidents of
racial violence in American history. Readers can learn the real story of
the Tulsa Race Massacre from the nonfiction backmatter, including a
glossary, discussion questions, writing prompts, and author's note, in
this Girls Survive story.