Winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards for Author and Illustrator

A Caldecott Honor Book

A Sibert Honor Book

Longlisted for the National Book Award

A Kirkus Prize Finalist

A Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book

"A must-have"--Booklist (starred review)

In the early 1900s, Tulsa, Oklahoma, was home to a thriving African American community. The Greenwood District had its own school system, libraries, churches, restaurants, post office, movie theaters, and more. But all that would change in the course of two terrible, unspeakable days.

On May 31 and June 1, 1921, a mob of armed white Tulsans attacked Greenwood. They looted homes and businesses and burned them to the ground as Black families fled. The police did nothing to protect Greenwood, and as many as three hundred African Americans were killed. More than eight thousand were left homeless.

News of the Tulsa Race Massacre--one of the worst incidents of racial violence in US history--was largely suppressed, and no official investigation occurred for seventy-five years.

Celebrated author Carole Boston Weatherford and acclaimed illustrator Floyd Cooper provide a sensitive and powerful introduction to the Tulsa Race Massacre, helping young readers understand the events of the past so we can move toward a better future for all.

Download the free educator guide here: https: //lernerbooks.com/download/unspeakableteachingguide

Author: Carole Boston Weatherford
Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books (R)
Published: 02/02/2021
Pages: 32
Weight: 0.98lbs
Size: 11.00h x 9.40w x 0.30d
ISBN: 9781541581203

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.8
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 511494 / Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre


Award: 2021 National Book Awards Nominee - Young People's Lit.
Award: 2021 Boston Globe-Horn Book Awards Honor Book - Nonfiction
Award: 2022 Coretta Scott King Award Winner - Author
Award: 2022 Coretta Scott King Award Winner - Illustrator
Award: 2022 Caldecott Medal Honor Book - Picture Book
Award: 2022 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Honor Book - Children's Book
Award: 2021 Kirkus Prize Finalist - Young Readers


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 12/01/2020
Booklist 12/15/2020 pg. 93
Publishers Weekly 01/04/2021
Horn Book Magazine 01/01/2021 pg. 138
School Library Journal 02/01/2021 pg. 89
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2021 - Outstanding, Noteworthy In Style

About the Author
Weatherford, Carole Boston: - Carole Boston Weatherford is the author of numerous award-winning books and the winner of the 2025 Children's Literature Legacy Award. Her picture book BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom, illustrated by Michele Wood received a Newbery Honor. Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, illustrated by the late Floyd Cooper, was a National Book Award longlist title, won the Coretta Scott King Award for author and illustrator, and received a Caldecott Honor and a Sibert Honor. She is dedicated to writing poetry for children and is the 2025 and 2026 Young People's Poet Laureate. When she's not traveling or visiting museums, Carole is mining the past for family stories, fading traditions, and forgotten struggles. She lives in North Carolina.Cooper, Floyd: - Floyd Cooper (1956-2021) was a Coretta Scott King Award winner and illustrator of numerous books for children including Ruth and the Green Book, A Spy Called James, and Max and the Tag-Along Moon. Unspeakable, one of his final picture books, was a National Book Award longlist title, a Sibert Honor book, and a Caldecott Honor book. He received a degree in fine arts from the University of Oklahoma and went on to develop a distinctive art technique called oil erasure.