CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A new graphic novel about the Tulsa Race Massacre emphasizes the thriving Black community of Greenwood as much as it remembers the racial violence that took place there.
“Across the Tracks: Remembering Greenwood, Black Wall Street, and the Tulsa Race Massacre” was written by Alverne Ball, of Joliet, Illinois, and illustrated by Stacey Robinson, a graphic design professor in the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The book was published by Abrams Books for the 100th anniversary of the massacre, which took place on Memorial Day, 1921, when mobs of white men destroyed businesses and homes in the Greenwood district and killed many people.
The book is the first graphic novel on the Tulsa Race Massacre and on the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, which was known as Black Wall Street. The community itself becomes a character in the story, Robinson said.
“The book focuses on the community of people and not as much on the massacre. That was a very conscious decision because everybody wants to talk about the massacre, and the people become invisible. It becomes about the massacre but not about the community they built,” Robinson said.
He used bright, vibrant colors in his illustrations to portray the achievements of the Black-owned businesses in the Greenwood community and the prosperity of its residents.
“Initially it was expected to be illustrated in black-and-white or sepia tone. But Black history and American history did not happen in sepia tone. It would have made the book look aged and about the distant past,” Robinson said. “It was 100 years ago. However, I wanted readers to see the beautiful Black opulence that was destroyed. I wanted them to see the vibrancy of Booker T. Washington High School; the vibrancy of the diverse skin tones of Black people; the opulence of their clothing and their jewelry. I wanted them to feel joy through the color, so that by the time we get to the massacre, they are looking at it from the side of Black people defending their community.”
Another stylistic storytelling choice Robinson made in his illustrations was putting the reader in the place of Greenwood residents.
“When they are marching to the courthouse across the tracks, the reader is in the crowd. When Black people are defending their homes, you are inside the homes with them. This book puts you on the side of Black people defending Black lives and Black property and Black wealth. You as a reader are on the side of Black people,” he said.
“Across the Tracks” is a young adult novel, and it also is intended as a primer for educators, parents and librarians to approach the subject matter of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Robinson said. The bright color choices also were intended to attract younger readers, he said. He made other choices in consideration of young readers. For example, in scenes featuring gunfire, he did not draw muzzle flares coming out of the guns and instead used written sound effects, like “pow” and “bang.”
He also added some whimsy to the characters in the form of exaggerated smiles, bordering on caricature, to add joy to the faces of the people he drew.
Robinson had to imagine what many of the Greenwood residents looked like. During the pandemic, he couldn’t travel to Tulsa while working on the illustrations, so he relied on internet research, looking at books, documentaries and documents from the Tulsa Historical Society.
The book includes a timeline and an essay about the events to give context to the building of the community and its rebuilding after the massacre, Robinson said.