Reporter to discuss 1921 Tulsa riot
by Mary Barrera, south news editor

    In honor of Black History Month, a local Star-Telegram reporter will speak about the 1921 Tulsa race riot on two campuses this month.

   Tim Madigan is the author of The Burning: Massacre, Destruction and the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921, a book praised by the New York Times and the Library Journal.

   The Tulsa race riot is an event that was buried in secrecy, but its details are slowly becoming known.

   The community of Greenwood, a prosperous black community encompassing 34 square blocks of Tulsa, came under attack by a white mob numbering in the thousands. Greenwood was obliterated and as many as 300 people perished.

   The Burning is a fictional account that recreates Greenwood in the height of its prosperity when it was known as the “Negro Wall Street of America.”

   Madigan covers racism and the mistrust between the black residents and the neighboring whites.

   He recounts the events leading to and including the destruction of Greenwood and the secrecy that followed.

Madigan will appear Tuesday, Feb. 12, 11 a.m. in RTA 132-133 on the South Campus.

   The event is sponsored by South Campus Phi Theta Kappa, Rho Chi chapter, African American Student Organization and the social science department.

   He will also visit NE Campus Wednesday, Feb. 27, 12:30 p.m. in the Student Center’s Center Corner, sponsored by student activities.