Run It Back offers accurate, well-sourced articles about various topics within black history, told through the lives of fascinating people and compelling places. The articles are written by author and journalist Victor Luckerson (that’s me). I have presented my research at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and more than a dozen colleges across the United States. These pieces are generally brief (1,500 words or so) and are accessible enough to be used by students of all ages.
The articles below are organized by topic. This is a growing archive so check back frequently for updates.
For any questions about sourcing or further reading, please contact me directly at vic.luckerson@gmail.com. Also, if you end up using any of my work for educational purposes, please let me know so I can track the impact this archive is having.
Black-Indigenous Relations
The Black Journey Out West - How two completely different groups of black Oklahomans came to be treated as one
Selfishness Is At the Bottom of Civilization - How black people gained--and lost--millions of acres of land out West
Black Gold - Oil, wealth, and deception flowed in tandem on the outskirts of Tulsa
The Great Depression
Women’s Work - When the Great Depression gripped Tulsa in the early 1930’s, it squeezed black women the hardest
Greenwood: Entrepreneurship and Success
The Women of Greenwood - Female entrepreneurs not only contributed to the prosperity of early Greenwood but preserved the history of it
Why Greenwood Flourished - A prosperous black middle class emerged in Tulsa for reasons that were both specific to Oklahoma and common throughout the U.S.
The Other Black Wall Streets - Greenwood was not the only prosperous black business district in the early 20th century--not by a longshot
Greenwood: The Tulsa Race Massacre
The Unfinished Story of Dick Rowland - For more than a century, narratives about the massacre have revolved around a mysterious black shoe shine boy and an even more elusive white elevator operator
A Way With Words - Black-owned media outlets were burned to the ground in the Tulsa Race Massacre. White outlets got the chance to write--and then almost erase--the first draft of history.
What They Lost - A partial accounting
‘Get a Gun and Get Busy’ - Local police and the National Guard failed to protect Greenwood from burning during the 1921 race massacre. In fact, their actions likely encouraged its destruction.
A Conspiracy in Plain Sight - Tulsa’s white leaders orchestrated a concerted effort to force black residents out of Greenwood. The only question is whether this plan was initiated before the massacre or afterwards.
Trust In the Law - The legal battles over who should pay for the destruction of Greenwood, criminally and financially, began before the smoke had cleared
How They Rebuilt - Through a mixture of hubris and active malice, Tulsa city leaders undermined the rebuilding of Greenwood. Black people brought the neighborhood back anyway.
The Red Summer and Racial Violence
Judge Lynch - Oklahoma's white power structure systematically condoned lynching, from the police to the press to the mobs themselves. It was Greenwood residents who upheld the rule of law