Hate Crimes in the Heartland

Gr 9 Up—This documentary examines the shooting of five African Americans by two white men in Tulsa, OK, in 2012. What began as a local news item quickly went national, and journalists were not hesitant to label the killings a hate crime. The national media spotlight on what became known as the Good Friday shootings revealed the community to be divided by race, with blacks and whites living segregated lives and underlying racial tensions. The filmmakers do a wonderful job of interviewing people who have a variety of perspectives, including law professors, journalists, victims, law enforcements officers, government officials, and civil rights leaders. They trace tensions back to the 1921 race riots in which the Greenwood District, a thriving economic and cultural center also known as the "Black Wall Street," was burned to the ground, many of its citizens murdered, and the majority of residents left homeless. (Teachers and librarians should be aware of the occasional use of racial slurs as interviewees describe their experiences.)