Author Victor Luckerson to Speak at USA

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Posted on February 20, 2024

Joy Washington

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The University of South Alabama continues to honor Black History Month with a conversation with Journalist Victor Luckerson, author of “Built from the Fire: The Epic Story of Tulsa’s Greenwood District,” known as America’s Black Wall Street. His talk will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at 5:30 p.m. at the MacQueen Alumni Center on USA’s main campus. The event is free and open to the public.

Luckerson’s book follows a multigenerational saga of a family and a community in Tulsa’s Greenwood District. In his book, Luckerson goes beyond the race massacre to share there’s success despite the tragedy their ancestors endured.

"So much of our nation's history has been buried for too long. I hope that people will come away from the discussion with a clearer understanding of all the things black folks were accomplishing during the era of Jim Crow--and how viciously those accomplishments were often challenged by people in power,” Luckerson said. “I also hope that people will be able to draw parallels between what Greenwood experienced and what's transpired in Mobile and Africatown over the last century, or whatever community they may hail from. The history of black communities is deeply interconnected." 

Luckerson moved to Tulsa in 2019 to tell the story of Greenwood from the perspective of race massacre survivors and descendants. According to Luckerson, “Built from the Fire” is a blend of boots-on-the-ground journalism, academic research, and a literary narrative.

He is currently The University of Tulsa’s writer-in-residence for 2023-24. He has written for The New Yorker, The New York Times, TIME magazine and the Smithsonian magazine.

This event is sponsored by the Division of Diversity and Community Engagement and USA Trustee Emeritus Margie Malone Tuckson.

More Black History Month events are being held at the University in February.

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