We chat to author Randi Pink about her new historical YA novel, Angel of Greenwood, which takes place during the Greenwood Massacre of 1921, in an area of Tulsa, OK, known as the Black Wall Street. Randi speaks of her new novel and its inspiration, the best and worst writing advice she’s received, and more.
Hi, Randi! Tell us a bit about yourself!
I used to be a jazz singer. Scat was my specialty, an improvisational wordless way of singing. I’m answering with this seemingly obscure fact about myself because it explains something about my personality that can’t be articulated in traditional ways.
Scat singing is a rare talent since, to succeed at it, you have to be willing to risk it all and trust that the next nonsensical syllable that comes out of your mouth will fit into the melody. And maybe more importantly, when it doesn’t fit, a scat singer must adjust in a millisecond or the big band and audience will be lost.
As I sit here writing this, I remember a few times when my improvisation went so far left that I lost everyone in the room. To someone else, those moments might seem mortifying, but I smile at them because it’s the essence of who I am – willing to take the leap, and even in dizzying free fall, trust my instincts to land on my feet.
2020 was an incredibly bizarre year, and it’s rolling on into 2021. Have you set any resolutions for the year?
One of my last in-person sermons of 2020 was titled Brokenness Before Breakthrough. It was preached on January 5, 2020. I know this because I wrote those three words on a straggly strip of paper and taped them to the dash of my car.
Nearly a year later, the phrase is still there – Brokenness Before Breakthrough – staring back at me every time I slide into the driver’s seat.
When the world shut down, I drove around a lot. In the beginning, I was terrified to even crack the windows for fear of virus floating in the air. I pressed the in-car air circulation button as not to bring any deadliness in on myself and my two tiny children. I spent a lot of 2020 terrified, actually. But all the while, there, riding with me on the dash was that phrase – Brokenness Before Breakthrough.
In the Spring, I focused the weight of my attention on the word brokenness. I knew that I was broken. Without a doubt, I was. But by the height of summer, sun burnt and fading, the second word, before, became the silent refrain of my life. I felt a transitioning from fear to something unexplainable. Then, by fall, cracks began to fill in a bit. And by winter, I could feel myself coming back together, piece by piece. No longer broken, but not like before either. More like stained glass shards pieced into something different.
That, I apologize for the lengthiness, is a highly convoluted way of saying that my resolution for 2021 is Breakthrough.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
I was the quiet one in the house full of talkers. I’m not complaining! In that environment, I learned the incomparable value of listening. I listened, not only to words spoken, but also to cadences and deliveries and pauses and interruptions. All the while paying close attention to my own internal, emotional reactions to those things around me.
I felt strongly, but I did so in quiet corners with ink pens. Sometimes, I’d write something powerful and surprise even myself. I liked that feeling so I wrote on. Eventually, anything that affected me in any substantial way, I’d sort out the emotion by writing through it.
Writing became my coping mechanism, and eventually, it became the love of my life.
Your new novel, Angel of Greenwood, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Brilliance. Love. Resiliency. Hope. Triumph.
Now tell us a little more! What can readers expect?
The Greenwood District of Tulsa is so much more than the Massacre. Greenwood itself is triumph unyielding. It’s a place in our history that represents the human spirit in its purest form and the will to rise in the ugly face of hate.
Readers can expect to fall madly in love with a place called Greenwood.
What was the inspiration behind this novel?
This novel started as a dream.
I began visualizing a place where my Black children could comfortably walk down the sidewalk. I pictured them doing this as teenagers one day, and thought, where in my town would they feel most at ease going for a simple walk? My town is still deeply divided so I had troubling nailing down a place for them in my mind.
So, as I do, I wrote a place for us. A place with tree-lined streets and squatty mom-and-pop shops on the Boulevard. A place of Black excellence where everybody knows everybody else’s name.
A few weeks after I’d dreamt up this place, a wonderful librarian told me the story of Greenwood and the essence of that work became Angel of Greenwood.
What challenges did you face while writing and how did you overcome them?
The Greenwood Race Massacre happened on May 31st, 1921 and the cover-up began immediately afterward. Newspapers grossly under reported the destruction of the Greenwood District, many officials were involved themselves, and until recently, the Massacre was even referred to as a riot, which completely misrepresents the reality of what happened there. The most horrific example of the elaborate cover up is that mass graves are only now being uncovered, nearly one hundred years later.
The biggest challenge was carefully sifting through history to ensure that Angel of Greenwood was historically accurate.
To overcome this challenge, I read and studied works by historian Hannibal B. Johnson, Tim Madigan and many others. I combed through the Tulsa Historical Society archives, which have been meticulously sorted. I sought every ounce of literature and reporting that I could find.
What do you hope readers will take away from Angel of Greenwood?
I hope readers will share the history of the Greenwood Race Massacre. Too many people still have not heard about what happened there in the summer of 1921. This is a part of our history and everyone should know.
What’s the best and the worst writing advice you have received?
The best writing advice I ever received was from my former Creative Writing professor and wonderful author, Kerry Madden. She told me to write forward. That’s become a bit of a refrain in my heart and mind ever since she said it.
The worst writing advice I’ve ever received has come from all sides since I shared that I was pursuing writing as a career. It’s been more of an implication really, to grow up and stop chasing the pipe dream of being an author. To move along with my life and fall in line. At one point, I began to believe it too and applied for a few Human Resource jobs, but no one would hire me. So I had to keep writing.
What’s next for you?
I just want to write. Anything and everything. Truly. I just want to write.
Lastly, what are you currently reading and what 2021 book recommendations do you have for our readers?
Right now, I’m reading Bunheads by Misty Copeland with my three-year-old daughter. She’d be in ballet right now, but pandemic.
My 2021 recommendations would be anything by Kelly Quindlen.
