... a propulsive present tense ... filled with moments like these — candid and self-aware, undergirded by Ellsworth’s earnest efforts to get at this history, and to get it right ... Part of what makes this book so riveting is Ellsworth’s skillful narration, his impeccable sense for when to reveal a piece of information and when to hold something back ... makes for sobering reading; but it also sheds light, and some of it is hopeful.
... offers a moving and humane portrait of the massacre, drawn from the author’s extensive investigation as well as his experience as a native Tulsan. While Ellsworth traces his own journey researching the massacre since the 1970s, he also places Black Tulsans and their memories at the center of his narrative ... Ellsworth grabs the reader’s attention early in the book with his portrait of the Greenwood district. One can sense the vibrancy and character of the neighborhood, a place that encouraged Black economic power. The utopia-like feeling that emerges in the early chapters, however, slips away as Ellsworth recounts, with great care and sensitivity, the barrage of attacks on the Black community. We hear from victims and witnesses whose voices are often ignored ... By seeking out these difficult answers, Ellsworth makes clear that he is deeply committed to exposing the details of the massacre and its aftermath. He refuses to shy away from the history — no matter how uncomfortable ... sends a powerful message at this 100th anniversary: that reconciliation is possible only when we directly confront the truth of a painful past and take concrete steps to redress it.
... a much-needed book that acts like a mirror. Though documenting a particular place and time, it helps us understand the race-based and sectarian turmoil that is so pervasive today ... Fast-paced but nuanced, it’s an impeccably researched update of Ellsworth’s literary debut.
.. .resists the urge to monetize the centennial anniversary of unspeakable evil by offering a more detailed account of black trauma at the hands of a lawless mob of white Tulsans drunk on the myth of racial supremacy ... Ellsworth’s recounting of the Greenwood massacre that opens the book is heartrending and mercifully brief. More impressionistic than expository, the narrative grounds the senseless violence as being enacted upon people with names and knowable histories. This approach also obliquely outlines one of the gaping holes in the Tulsa narrative that, thus far, remains otherwise invisible ... One of Ellsworth’s most valuable accomplishments in this book is to document the progressively rich pool of scholarship surrounding the massacre, serving as a kind of literature review nestled within the character sketches and vignettes that connect one generation to the next ... To his credit, Ellsworth seems all too aware of the white privilege that allowed him to research, write, and publish a history that fundamentally belonged to a community other than his own. He foregrounds his eyewitnesses and their life stories, reanimating them to speak their truths with interesting details about their complex lives, which spooled outward from the trauma that had been buried. The result is a book that feels very much of this time, when the names of those martyred by police violence are invoked as a cultural act of magic against the silence that has, for too long, prevailed.
Ellsworth's book presents a riveting, painful-to-read account of a mass crime that has avoided justice ... This book presents us with a clear history of the Tulsa massacre and with that rendering, a chance for atonement of one of our darkest hours as a nation. Readers of this book will fervently hope we take that opportunity.
Reading The Ground Breaking is going to leave you wrung out ... reads like a true-life mystery-thriller, a feeling that’s bolstered by Ellsworth’s totally-exhaustive pursuit of information and documentation (which is still unnervingly unavailable) and his relentlessly-dogged search for the bodies of the dead. On this latter, readers may still feel a sense of the unfinished, and closure is elusive here ... This is the kind of book that, once you start it, makes the hours disappear. It’s an emotional one that’ll make you skip dinner and lock the door so you can just read. For sure, The Ground Breaking will shake you up.
The resulting odyssey makes for a difficult read, both for its grim content and jumpy, stylised prose. The author could do considerably more to explain why this extraordinary incident took place. But the story he tells is an essential one, with just a glimmer of hope in it. Because of the work of Ellsworth and many others, America is finally staring this appalling chapter of its history in the face. It’s not a pretty sight.
The bulk of the book discusses the aftermath and the unearthing of long-buried facts, including the search for rumored mass graves of African American citizens of Tulsa. Finally, through the efforts of the author and other interested persons, including journalists, 'There was no question that Greenwood and the massacre were working their way into the country’s historical memory book.' The Ground Breaking makes a valuable contribution toward that and, if for no other reason, is worth a read.
A thoughtful exploration of the importance of collective memory. It is particularly poignant as 2021 marks the centennial of the massacre. A must-read for all who are interested in how history continues to impact the present.
... vital ... a brilliant update that recounts the events with the swiftness of an especially grim crime thriller ... Ellsworth not only recounts the horrific crimes; he also traces the chain of journalists and researchers who preceded him in revealing the details. The author doubts that the exact number of casualties will ever be known, but through his diligent research, the locations of many graves have been discovered and forensic work conducted, assisted by locals who spoke out with information passed down over generations ... An essential historical record surrounding heinous events that have yet to be answered with racial justice.
... riveting ... Interviews with survivors and reflections on the debate over reparations and the social, economic, and racial divisions of modern-day Tulsa add depth to Ellsworth's portrait of a community attempting to heal from an unimaginable injustice. This eloquent, deeply moving history isn't to be missed.
