We cannot forget

Jennifer Latham’s ‘Dreamland Burning’ takes on Tulsa’s past and present racism

Jennifer Latham’s first book, “Scarlett Undercover,” (2015) is a young adult novel about a Muslim teen detective. Her second novel, “Dreamland Burning,” published this month and also for young adults, is about the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot. 

Jennifer acknowledges in her author’s note the controversy over whether or not the use of the term “riot,” is correct.

“I’ve gone with race riot not because I disagree with the accuracy of the other labels,” wrote Latham, “but because it’s the most commonly used historical term. And honestly, I believe riot is a fair description of what white Tulsans did.”

Latham’s novel is told from the points of view of Rowan Chase, a seventeen-year-old girl living in present day Tulsa, and William Tillman, a seventeen-year-old boy living in 1921 Tulsa. Rowan’s father, a white man, is the heir to a successful Oklahoma oil company and her mother is a well-respected, black attorney. William’s father is white and owns a music shop in downtown Tulsa and his mother is Osage.

Rowan is awakened one morning by the hubbub of workers in the early stages of remodeling the servants’ quarters behind her family’s home. The property has been in her father’s family for generations. The workers have just removed the floor when she hears a commotion and the workers leaving in a rush. When she investigates she sees what frightened them off—a skeleton. 

The skeleton’s clothing is still partially intact and Rowan takes the wallet out of its suit pocket where she finds a receipt with names, an accounting of payments made on a Victrola and a 1921 date. Rowan can’t resist a mystery and calls her best friend, James, whose assistance she enlists to uncover the identity of the person buried under the floor and the story behind the receipt.

In 1921, Will Tillman is jealous when he sees the girl of his dreams, Addie, sitting at a table in a local speakeasy with Clarence, who is black. He allows himself to be goaded into making a scene when Clarence touches Addie’s hand. He strikes at Clarence who dodges the blow and pushes him away. Will falls against a table injuring his arm. As a result of
the altercation, Clarence is eventually hunted down, beaten and killed. Will feels responsible for Clarence’s death, but he is pressured by his father and others to uphold the rules of white domination. 

The antagonist in this novel is white supremacy and is fully embodied in the character of Vernon Fish. Fish takes every opportunity he can to belittle and threaten Will, calling him a “half-breed” and bragging about being accepted into the Ku Klux Klan. He tells Will he has killed before and shows him the notches on his gun. Every scene in which Fish is present is intense and dangerous. 

In Rowan we see levels of privilege that go beyond skin color. James lets Rowan know that she doesn’t face the same obstacles as other brown people because of her father’s wealth and influence. Rowan has never been north of the Brady District and when she doesn’t get the summer internship she expected she is referred instead to a clinic in North Tulsa. As she drives, she makes observations. “There were no gang fights, no tweakers lurking in doorways or carjackers waiting on corners. It didn’t feel dangerous so much as forgotten.” 

I love mysteries and Jennifer Latham has presented a good mystery. Who is the man buried under the floor and how did he die? What happens to Will in 1921? Joseph? Ruby? Does Will defy white Tulsa or does he give in to the pressure to conform? And what does it all have to do with Rowan’s family? There is also a twist near the end. As a native Tulsan and descendant of Race Riot survivors, I was impressed with the story’s ability to carry me along on Rowan’s search for answers.

The characters were well developed and believable. The layout of today’s Tulsa as described is authentic and Jennifer has written an accurate account of Tulsa’s past and present racism. The 1921 invasion of Greenwood is an important historical event that was buried for decades and not addressed in history books. Oklahoma history has also been quiet about the Osage murders, which are mentioned in Latham’s book. 

On her webpage, Jennifer Latham states: “I wrote DREAMLAND because it’s important to learn about forgotten parts of our country’s past, and because we need to pay attention to the racial violence going on around us now. We need to acknowledge it. Talk about it. Fix it. Together. And we cannot, cannot forget.”

I wholeheartedly agree.

“Dreamland Burning” book launch
Wednesday, Feb. 22, 7 p.m.
Greenwood Cultural Center
322 N Greenwood Ave, Tulsa, OK 74120