Angel of Greenwood

Tell me a story… about something we never learned in history class

Angel of Greenwood by Randi Pink

Publication date: January 12, 2021

Date read: June 19, 2021

1921. Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Wilson is known throughout his neighborhood of Greenwood, in Tulsa, Oklahoma, as a troublemaker. But he is also an avid reader and a secret poet, and loves the writings of W.E.B. Du Bois, who believes that black people should rise up to claim their place as equals. Sixteen-year-old Angel Hill is a loner and a church-goer, mostly disregarded by her classmates. She loves the writings of Booker T. Washington, who believes that black people should avoid conflict and through peace they will eventually reach their place in the world. When these two kids are thrown together on a library project, they first fight over the right way for their people to gain equality. But on May 31, a white mob storms Greenwood, resulting in what is today known as the Tulsa Race Massacre. On that day, Isaiah and Angel, and the rest of the neighborhood, must put aside their differences and work not just to survive, but to save the home that they love.

I, like many people, did not learn about the Tulsa Race Massacre (formerly referred to - unjustly - as the Tulsa Race Riots) until 2019 when it was depicted in the first episode of the HBO series Watchmen. 

Most of the characters in this book - including the two main characters - are fictional, but the depiction of the events of that night are based in the facts available about that day. It's brutal and, while not exactly graphic in a blood-and-guts way, some of the descriptions are difficult to read. Most of the book is a lead-up to the massacre, telling the story of these two characters, which is a sweet read that actually taught me a few things about the time and about Washington and Du Bois that I didn't know. The book also goes into the tensions between the white communities and the Greenwood neighborhood, although not in too much depth, as the story is being told from the point of view of two teenagers. I liked, but didn't love, the story of Isaiah and Angel - I wanted a little more from it, honestly - but I thought what was on the page was well done.

I learned a lot while reading this book, and it made me go back and read a little non-fiction about the day in order to learn more. It's an important story to tell, and I think that the author did a good job of giving the facts while also telling an interesting story about two people. I would definitely recommend this book, especially as a starting point for people who want to know more about the history of racial tension in this country, but who are a little too intimidated to start with the big non-fiction works.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Trigger warning: racism, racial violence and murder, fire, parental illness and death