Death in a Promised Land Read Online Free PDF

particular blocks, this information is quite revealing. The white male residents (for whom an occupation was listed) were primarily unskilled and skilled workers. Many of their black male neighbors, by contrast, were professionals. Indeed, the 500 block of North Detroit was the home of a large portion of the city’s black elite, including two physicians, one dentist, one druggist, the editor of the Star, and the principal of the Booker T. Washington School.
    Information from this section of the city directories was employed in a number of ways, but was particularly useful in mapping Tulsa’s black community. By using this section, as in the above example, in conjunction with period maps and plat maps obtained from the City Engineer’s office in Tulsa, I was able to designate the city’s black and white neighborhoods in the map, “Central Tulsa, 1917–1921.” This section was also helpful in investigating the social geography of the city and in trying to gauge the destruction of the riot.

Acknowledgments
     
    Had it not been for the help of three historians, this book most likely would not have been written. John Strawn, of Portland, Oregon, opened my eyes to the substance of the nation’s past in his brilliantly constructed course on American social history, and patiently guided me through the first version of this work. In Tulsa, W. D. Williams graciously took me into his home on several occasions, openly shared his personal experiences, allowed treasured family artifacts to be photographed, and diligently led me through the history of our hometown. After forty-two years of public service in teaching at Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa, in 1979 the State of Oklahoma intelligently bestowed upon Mr. Williams the honorary title of “Historian of Oklahoma.” Larry Goodwyn’s help virtually defies description. As my mentor in the Oral History Program at Duke University, he encouraged me to continue my work on the riot, looked the other way when it interfered with my dissertation, and offered keen insights and crucial advice and criticism along the way.
    Other historians have also been of assistance. The early and sustained encouragement of Bill Tuttle of the University of Kansas has been especially gratifying. The same may be said of Bill Chafe of the Oral History Program at Duke, who also assisted in securing funds for my research. Other scholars generously read and criticized various drafts of this work. They are: William McClendon of the Portland Observer in Portland, Oregon; Raymond Gavins of Duke University; Peter Decker of the Double D Ranch, Ridgway Colorado; William Strickland of the University of Massachusetts; Patrick Blessing and William Settle of the University of Tulsa; and Henry Whitlow, former principal of Booker T. Washington High School, Tulsa. Mr. Whitlow’s and Mr. Settle’s insights into the history of Tulsa proved to be essential, and they and Mr. Blessing did much to help facilitate my research in Oklahoma.
    The Duke Oral History Program also deserves recognition. Although my earliest work on the riot preceded my affiliation with Duke, this book has been substantially affected by the program’s rigorous methods and democratic philosophy in the investigation of American history. In particular, two of my fellow graduate students at Duke, Donna Benson and Randy Lawrence, have significantly shaped and added to my understanding of the American past and have offered what is perhaps the best advice of all: that of one’s peers.
    The indispensable contributions of my oral informants should be obvious. W D. Williams, Henry Whitlow, Robert Fairchild, N. C. Williams, and the late Seymour Williams deserve special recognition, not only for their time and patience, but also for leading me to other informants. Mrs. Mozella Jones aided me in a similar fashion, and also arranged for me to meet her brother, Dr. John Hope Franklin, whose encouragement has been notably gratifying.
    In my search for