Looking for Dreamland: Uncovering a Family's Secret of the 1921 Tulsa Race RiotWhen historian Emma Williams returns to Tulsa to care for her dying grandmother, she takes a job teaching high school social studies. She and her students find themselves caught up in a dangerous quest to uncover the long-buried secret of the greatest race riot in American history, the 1921 attack on Black Wall Street, in which many hundreds died and a large, prosperous town was utterly destroyed. Emma and her students publish their findings and inspire a state legislative commission to uncover the facts. In the process, she finds herself under personal attack and discovers a dark family secret. Eventually, reconciliation comes for the city, Emma, and her grandmother. Benedetti's first novel, The Long Italian Goodbye, received high praise from authors such as Adriana Trigiani, Ernest Gaines, and Ron McLarty, and critics such as Richard Christiansen of the Chicago Tribune. |
Contents
Section 1 | 1 |
Section 2 | 9 |
Section 3 | 19 |
Section 4 | 30 |
Section 5 | 37 |
Section 6 | 50 |
Section 7 | 59 |
Section 8 | 68 |
Section 9 | 76 |
Section 10 | 83 |
Section 11 | 92 |
Section 12 | 102 |
Section 13 | 108 |
Section 14 | 115 |
Section 15 | 120 |
Common terms and phrases
answers asks Bell Booker Brad breath building calls carefully chair church close collection comes commission crowd door dress Ellwood Emma asks Emma looks Emma says Emma’s Eunice eyes face feels fire forward front girl give goes Grandma Greenwood hall hand happened head hear holds hope inside Jefferson joins Klan Latonya leans leave live looks Maggie mean meeting Melka memory Miriam Miss Williams move never nods notices opens pass past points pulls puts Quigley remember riot shakes shouts side silence sits smiles speaks stands starts steps stops street sure takes talk Thank things Tommy trying Tulsa turns Vernice says voice wall weeks window Wittman woman Young Vernice