Book Talk: Author Victor Luckerson Discusses Built from the Fire In-Person / Online
Join author Victor Luckerson as he recounts the epic history of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, often referred to as America’s Black Wall Street.
On May 31, 1921, a white mob murdered as many as 300 people and destroyed 35 blocks of a Black neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Residents rebuilt the community into “a Mecca” where nightlife thrived, small businesses flourished, and an underworld economy lived comfortably alongside public storefronts. But by the 1970s, urban renewal policies had nearly emptied the neighborhood, and today, new high-rises and encroaching gentrification risk wiping out Greenwood’s legacy for good.
Though the details differ, there are many similarities between the histories of Greenwood and Rochester’s own Clarissa Street, a once-thriving Black business and residential district that was erased during urban renewal.
Victor Luckerson is a journalist and author based in Tulsa who works to bring the neglected Black history to light. He is a former staff writer at The Ringer and business reporter for Time magazine. For more information, visit vicluckerson.com.
Registration is requested but not required.
The event also will be livestreamed at https://www.youtube.com/@RochesterPublicLibraryNY/streams
Presented in partnership with the Rochester Institute of Technology, Monroe Community College's Institute for the Humanities, Clarissa Street Legacy, and the Center forTeen Empowerment.
- Date:
- Saturday, April 6, 2024
- Time:
- 11:00am - 12:30pm
- Time Zone:
- Eastern Time - US & Canada (change)
- Location:
- Central - Kate Gleason Auditorium
- Library:
- Central Library
- Audience:
- Adults Teens
- Categories:
- Black History Book Talk/Review Department - Local History & Genealogy Diversity, Equity and Inclusion History Lecture Local History Streamed Event
Following the talk, please visit the Clarissa Uprooted exhibit on the 2nd floor of the Rundel Memorial Building.