A Deep Read, Green Book Club, and map(un)mapped
There’s a city-wide book read of Built From the Fire here in Tulsa, anchored by five community events over the next nine months. We’re calling the series Deep Greenwood–a term longtime North Tulsa residents use to refer to the historic business district at the heart of Greenwood. Each event will be going deep on a different part of the neighborhood’s history, and every gathering will be anchored by a set of chapters in Built From the Fire. Topics will range from the origins of racial violence in Tulsa to Greenwood’s thriving nightlife scene to the future of ambitious efforts like removing the Crosstown Expressway from the neighborhood. The format of the events will also be varied. Expect photo exhibits, poetry readings and live music in addition to traditional book talks. In Built From the Fire, I tried to strengthen the bonds between Greenwood’s past, present, and future, to give people more insight into how those bonds have been built; I hope these events can do the same.
You can follow Deep Greenwood’s progress by checking out our new website for the series. There you’ll find a reading calendar with suggestions on how to pace your way through Built From the Fire. We’ve also created a landing page for each event that includes key passages from the book and additional sources to widen your knowledge of the topic at hand. The series kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 28 at All Souls Unitarian Church at 6:30 p.m.
The map(un)mapped art exhibit at Liggett Studios features the Take A Trip with the Green Book app developed by Gilcrease Hills neighbor Mike McUsic. The exhibit is open Thursdays 5-8pm and Saturdays 1-5pm through October 5 at 314 Kenosha Avenue.
If you’re interested in participating in a great digital humanities project, the Green Book Club is starting Sept 25th at 11am at Rudisill Library. The focus is on searching the internet for photos of the 10,000 Green Book locations and discovering stories about them. Don’t worry about your computer skills, this group will help you learn—join us!