Violent Utopia: Dispossession and Black Restoration in Tulsa

Jovan Scott Lewis' Violent Utopia explores the history and aftermath of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, highlighting the ongoing effects of anti-Black racism, segregation, and dispossession in Tulsa and beyond. The massacre curtailed the freedom built in Greenwood, a Black neighborhood known as Black Wall Street, and the subsequent processes of urban renewal and intergenerational poverty perpetuated slow violence. Black Tulsans must reconcile the massacre's violence with the historical freedom and prosperity represented by Greenwood as they work to redevelop resources for self-determination. Their future is tied to their geography, which is the foundation from which they will repair and fulfill Greenwoods promise.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 28 October 2022
Publisher: Duke University Press

Jovan Scott Lewis' book "Violent Utopia" explores the history and aftermath of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, tracing the post-Reconstruction migration of Black people to Oklahoma Indian Territory and the contemporary efforts to rebuild Black prosperity. Lewis emphasizes the impact of the massacre on the freedom built in Greenwood, a historically Black neighborhood known as "Black Wall Street." He contextualizes the massacre within a broader history of anti-Black racism, segregation, and dispossession in Tulsa and beyond. Lewis highlights how the processes that led to the massacre, subsequent urban renewal, and intergenerational poverty perpetuated by nonprofits constitute a form of continuous slow violence. Black Tulsans must navigate a complex legacy, reconciling the violence of the massacre with the historical freedom and prosperity represented by Greenwood. Their future is intertwined with their geography, which serves as the foundation for repairing and fulfilling Greenwood's promise.

Weight: 424g
Dimension: 228 x 153 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781478018568