Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

 

Telling the Story That Was Left Out


The opening scene of "Watchmen"
In 1921, a thriving Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, known as Greenwood or “Black Wall Street” was destroyed in a violent, state-sanctioned act of racial terror. For decades, this story was omitted from textbooks and classroom conversations. Many adults first learned of it not in school, but through the HBO series The Watchmen, assuming the horrific events depicted must be fiction.



Carole Boston Weatherford’s Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, winner of multiple awards including the Coretta Scott King author and illustrator awards, sets the record straight, with grace. Illustrated by Floyd Cooper in soft, sepia-toned style, the book does what history texts failed to do for nearly a century: tell the truth.

Book Summary 


Unspeakable opens by painting a picture of life in Greenwood, a prosperous community built by Black Americans, many of whom were formerly enslaved or descendants of those who were. Readers learn how Greenwood’s residents built schools, churches, libraries, and businesses. They established a local economy, created two Black-owned newspapers, and sent their children to college. They were doctors, lawyers, entrepreneurs, proof that success could be born from resilience.

But Greenwood’s success wasn’t celebrated by all. Fueled by racism, resentment, and white supremacy, a false accusation against a young Black man triggered days of violence. Mobs of white residents, many deputized and armed by city officials, burned the neighborhood to the ground—killing as many as 300 people and leaving thousands homeless.

The book tells this story directly but sensitively, making it accessible to upper-elementary readers while opening the door to deeper exploration for middle and high school students.


Curriculum Connections

Social Studies / U.S. History

  • The Tulsa Race Massacre as suppressed history
    Introduce students to historical omissions in curriculum. Why was this not taught in schools for generations? What other events have been left out?

  • Post-Reconstruction Black communities
    Explore how formerly enslaved people founded thriving towns across the U.S., including Greenwood. Discuss Black Wall Street as an example of Black excellence and self-sufficiency.

  • Segregation and Jim Crow laws
    The book highlights voter suppression laws, segregation ordinances, and other legal barriers that made life difficult for Black Americans despite the end of slavery.

  • Contemporary connections: Black Lives Matter, protest movements, state-sanctioned violence
    Guide students in drawing lines from 1921 to today. What patterns do we see in how Black communities are treated by systems of power?

ELA / Literacy Connections

  • Literary devices
    Weatherford uses powerful poetic devices, repetition, imagery, understatement to evoke emotion and gravity. Ask students to analyze passages for tone and structure.

  • Point of view and voice
    Discuss how the author gives voice to a silenced past. Why might a picture book be the right format to tell this story?

  • Media literacy through illustration
    Floyd Cooper’s artwork is integral to the book’s impact. Have students study how illustrations convey dignity, community, and loss. Use images from the book as prompts for discussion or writing.

  • Author and illustrator research
    Introduce students to Carole Boston Weatherford’s and Floyd Cooper’s other works about Black history, resilience, and justice.

Social Studies/History Discussion Questions

  1. What does the Greenwood community’s success tell us about Black life after slavery and Reconstruction?

  2. What role did segregation laws and voter suppression play in maintaining inequality in Tulsa and across the U.S.?

  3. How did local and state authorities contribute to or allow the violence to happen? What does this tell us about systemic racism?

English Language Arts Classroom Discussion Questions

  1. What is the significance of the book’s title, Unspeakable? How does that word reflect both the history and the emotional impact of the story?

  2. Discuss how the author builds tension and emotion through her word choices. Can you find examples of repetition, imagery, or understatement?

  3. Why might a picture book be an effective format for telling this historical story, especially to older students? How is this different from a textbook or documentary?

SEL / Diversity & Inclusion Lens Discussion Questions

  1. How does this book challenge or expand your understanding of American history and the Black experience?

  2. What strengths and values did the Greenwood community demonstrate before the massacre? Why is it important to remember those, not just the violence?

  3. How do stories like this help us build empathy and understanding across different backgrounds and identities?

Extension Ideas

  • Compare Unspeakable with primary sources or news coverage from the time.
  • Create a visual timeline of Greenwood’s rise and destruction using pages from the book.
  • Host a student-led discussion or Socratic seminar on "Who decides what history is taught?"
  • Pair with contemporary texts or poetry about racial justice.

Unspeakable is a hard but necessary read, and one that belongs in middle and high school classrooms and libraries. It proves that picture books are not just tools for the youngest readers, but powerful texts for helping older students confront, question, and understand the world.

Trigger/Content Warnings for Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre

This picture book includes:

  • Racial violence and white supremacy
    Descriptions and illustrations of racially motivated attacks and the destruction of a thriving Black community by white mobs.

  • Mass death and destruction
    References to killings, burned homes and businesses, and the devastation of the Greenwood District (“Black Wall Street”).

  • Terrorism and displacement
    Portrayal of families fleeing, losing their homes, and being forced into internment camps or temporary shelters.

  • Historical trauma
    Themes of injustice, systemic racism, erasure of history, and intergenerational grief.


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