I learned a lot from this book. While I had heard some about the time period and atrocities covered in this book, I didn't know much detail. Colbert covers forced Indian displacements, the Five Civilized Tribes, the big land grabs, and the many lynchings of Black people and cover ups by white people in the late 1800s and early 1900s. All of that lays ground for the main focus of the book: the building of Greenwood, ie Black Wall Street, and the devastation of the neighborhood, the homes, the businesses and the community at the hands of the white people across the railroad tracks, including police officers and the National Guard.

I also liked how she ended the book. She talked about how such a historical event was covered up and how Tulsa is still struggling to make amends although it's made some slow progress. Then she lays out parallels between then and present day, and there are a lot, which goes to show that ignoring our history or white washing it means we learn nothing and do not grow.