Reconstructing the Dreamland: The Tulsa Race Riot of 1921

The Tulsa riot of 1921 was probably the worst race riot in the United States in the twentieth century. Contextualising the riot in terms of the larger race relations of the period, Brophy carefully chronicles the details of the event, showing how and why a rule of law that was supposed to protect its citizens quickly eroded. This book vividly depicts the moral and legal dilemmas in the case, and brings to life an incidence of racial violence that until recently lay quiet and mostly forgotten. Present day discussions of reparations have brought the case to light, and Brophy's revelations and stark narrative of the events of 1921 provide context for what has often been an abstract moral debate about law, its breakdown, and the state's duty to protect all citizens.