Unspeakable

 Title: Unspeakable

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford

Illustrator: Floyd Cooper

Summary: In Tulsa, Oklahoma there was a community called Greenwood. People that lived in Greenwood descended from Black Indians, from formerly enslaved people. Around ten thousand people were living in the town. There were train tracks dividing black and white communities. Greenwood was thriving and growing every day with multiple grocery stores, restaurants, bus systems, auto shops, hospitals, post offices, school systems, etc. In 1921, people in Tulsa were not happy that African Americans were growing and achieving just as much, or more than whites. One day, a white lady accused a nineteen-year-old black man of assault. The young man was put in jail, and because of this thirty black men went downtown to help the young man. They faced off with two thousand whites. They were not able to help the accused man, so the whites spread rumors that the Black community was planning to attack the town. A white mob took over Greenwood, burning everything they could. Over three hundred African Americans were killed and hundreds more were injured. They were left with nothing. Today in Tulsa there is a park to remember the victims from 1921. 

This story is very powerful and should be in every teacher's library. I think this is a book that will be able to make an impact on young readers' minds and educate them about the past. I give this book a 5/5.