“Kristal Brent Zook is one of our most gifted and astute observers of the American scene. Her riveting Tulsa Speaks is a bracing look at what happens when inspired but fallible human beings set out to remedy past racial catastrophes. Eschewing both easy cynicism and glib optimism, Zook instead offers a resilient hopefulness about the possibility that local figures can achieve the kind of progress that eludes national lawmakers and public policy wonks. This brilliant book is history from the bottom up, and an illuminating chronicle of social change one political decision at a time.” —Michael Eric Dyson, author of Long Time Coming: Reckoning with Race in America

“A no-nonsense account of how government actually functions at the municipal level. By looking at the lives of nine city council members and how they grappled with the legacy of their city’s greatest tragedy, Zook has provided us with an indelible, street-level portrait of racial politics in twenty-first-century America.” —Scott Ellsworth, author of The Ground Breaking: The Tulsa Race Massacre and an American City’s Search for Justice

“This powerful narrative illustrates the challenges and possibilities for achieving racial reconciliation and justice in the United States.” —Meena Bose, author of Pragmatic Vision: Obama and the Enactment of the Affordable Care Act

“We tend to forget about the unknown names behind so many decisions in cities and towns across America. Award-winning journalist Kristal Brent Zook gets inside the hearts and minds of real, living, breathing city councilors to uncover their pain and their triumphs as they try to decide whether or not to make amends for one of the most significant acts of domestic terrorism in our history.”—Tatsha Robertson, editor in chief, The Root