Montgomery native pens acclaimed book on Tulsa Race Massacre and community's resilience
About a decade and a half ago, Victor Luckerson sat in Jeff Baker's history class at LAMP High School.
Back then, Luckerson didn't know he would write an acclaimed book exploring the Tulsa Race Massacre and the resiliency of the Black community of Greenwood. He didn't know Baker would one day introduce him to a crowded Montgomery bookstore with a line out the door to answer questions about that book. Luckerson didn't know the impact that book would have on his hometown of Montgomery and his adopted town of Tulsa.
Then, Luckerson was just a curious student.
“Victor was a very astute, diligent student," Baker said. "He was always, well, he was smart, but he was more of an intellectual. ... He was always thinking beyond the factual information."
Luckerson went on to graduate from the University of Alabama and then to write for publications such as The New Yorker, the New York Times and Smithsonian magazine.
In May, Luckerson published "Built from the Fire: The Epic Story of Tulsa's Greenwood District, America's Black Wall Street."
Luckerson moved to Tulsa and spent four years working on the book.
The book focuses on the Tulsa Race Massacre, in which a white mob descended upon Greenwood, killing up to 300 people and destroying 35 blocks, but it also tells the story on Greenwood's rise from the 1921 tragedy. Greenwood was an economic stronghold for Black people during the timeframe, providing wealth and power that would be unthinkable in other areas.
“That specific event feels a lot like the kind of thing that every American should know about," Luckerson said. "I think it says a lot about where America was in the 1920s in race relations. I think it also shows even when we make progress as a country, there can be big setbacks. You know, Greenwood was a very prosperous Black community in the early 1900s, and it was totally wiped out.
"It kind of illustrates the fact that our progress isn’t a given in the United States. Sometimes I think there can be an impression things are always going to get better here, but I think we can only get better if we’re really sort of vigilant and focused on stamping out our worst tendencies."
Soon, Montgomery artists will tell the story of Greenwood and the Tulsa Race Massacre in relation to Montgomery through their work. Fellow LAMP alumnus Cheikh Robertson organized "Built From the Fire: A Talking Book," a live concert that will explore Luckerson's book through Montgomery artists.
It will be 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Capri Theater. Tickets are $15 and include a copy of the book. A panel discussion will follow the show and will feature several of the performing artists and a book signing by Luckerson. NewSouth and Robertson's organization close third are partnering with Luckerson to put on the event. NewSouth is stocking "Built from the Fire."
"The title 'A Talking Book' is a play on the idea that even those with clear eyesight, and even insight, sometimes can’t see what’s right in front of them," Robertson said in a text message. "'Built from the Fire' has the special quality of linking past to present, city to city within a beautifully told history that paints a multigenerational landscape of where we all are today in Montgomery and as a country."
More: Additional Reading University of Alabama graduate writes history of Tulsa Race Massacre
Alex Gladden is the Montgomery Advertiser's public safety reporter. She can be reached at agladden@gannett.com or on Twitter @gladlyalex.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Built from Our History: Luckerson's examination of Black resilience
