A forum thread for Reading Recommendations ...
it might be a page to keep adding to ideas for content behind the future group readings or resources that could be shared.
Also we might be able to continue the conversation asynchronously about particular reading options.
Replies
The Ground Breaking : An American City & Its Search for Justice (Ellsworth)
This book was just reviewed by the New York Times and is another reminder of our topic for the June 6th Sunday Conversation: History, Memory & June 4th. The background is the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 and traces the author's lifetime of discovery about his hometown's obscured history. Many Americans are not familiar with what has been described as a US Kristallnacht moment. See link and excerpt from the book review.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/26/books/review-ground-breaking-tul...
A Skillful Narrative of Excavating the Truth About the Tulsa Race Massacre
By Jennifer Szalai
Trying to recover a forgotten history is one thing; rescuing a history that has been actively suppressed is another.
On May 31 and June 1, 1921, white mobs descended on the Greenwood district in Tulsa, Okla., shooting and pillaging their way through a vibrant and prosperous Black enclave, reducing it to rubble. Low-flying airplanes dropped burning turpentine balls, leaving an entire block in what one eyewitness described as “a mass of flame.” An all-white local contingent of the National Guard turned a machine gun on the Mount Zion Baptist Church, systematically raking the walls with heavy fire until the stalwart building gave way in a cascade of shattered glass and tumbling bricks.
“At taxpayer expense, a House of God has been demolished,” Scott Ellsworth writes in “The Ground Breaking,” a new book that begins by recreating the bloody events of 100 years ago in a propulsive present tense. Ellsworth then goes on to trace the story of what has happened since, from silence and cover-up to sustained attempts to learn the full history. Last year, an excavation found mass graves that likely belong to some of those who were killed, and just last week, the massacre’s three known survivors — the youngest is 100 years old — testified before a House Judiciary committee that is considering reparations.
Thanks for the recommendation, Greg. The Tulsa Race Riots definitely need to be taught in schools. NPR's Code Switch did an interesting podcast this week called "Tulsa, 100 Years Later".
Thanks to everyone who joined our May 2nd Sunday Conversation about travel.
Among the ideas that were shared was a book recommendation:
Border by Kapka Kassabova
This is a marvellous, personal account of the border zone between Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece, from the Ottomans to cold war menace and beyond ... and here's a Guardian review if you're interested in reading more ( thanks Marcie ! )
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/feb/08/border-by-kapka-kassa...
Here's two articles that highlight student voices from this year. I'll attach the text for the first article in case you don't have NYT access but the pictures/art for the first article is probably important to see alongside the text.
Teens on a Year That Changed Everything: In words, images and video, teens across the United States show us how they have met life's challenges in the midst of a pandemic.
YearThatChangedEverything_NYT.docx
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/08/learning/teens-pandemic-art.html
‘I Can’t Believe I Am Going to Say This, but I Would Rather Be at School’.
We asked students, from kindergarten to 12th grade, what it’s like to learn from home. Here’s what they had to say, in their own words — and drawings.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/us/school-at-home-students-coron...
Cultural Competency and Implicit Bias Articles
The Case for Cultural Competency - ASCD
How Implicit Bias Impacts Our Children in Education - American Bar Association
Articles on Empathy:
Six Habits of Highly Empathic People - Greater Good Magazine
How to Be More Empathetic - The New York Times