Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Brandy Colbert is the author of Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. A journalist and fiction/nonfiction writer, much of her work is geared toward younger audiences, typically middle grade and young adult readers. Black Birds in the Sky is Colbert’s first fully original nonfiction book, but she has worked alongside other authors to adapt adult-level books for younger readers, including The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks (2013) with Jeannine Theoharis and Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina (2014) with Misty Copeland. Colbert’s nonfiction work, including her co-authorships and adaptations, frequently focuses on Black history. For example, Rosa Parks was a crucial figure in the civil rights movement, and Misty Copeland was the first Black woman to become principal dancer for the American Ballet Theatre. Like these two previous works, Black Birds in the Sky discusses the Tulsa Race Massacre, an important chapter of Black history. 

In the Foreword, Colbert meditates on Black history and her own connection to it. Despite the intense amount of research she conducted while writing this book, Colbert states:

I still have so much to learn, especially when it comes to Black history. But I no longer dread learning about it.