HBO - Massacre of Black Wall Street

A graphic novella covering one of the most horrific moments in American history: The 1921 Tulsa Massacre.

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“The Massacre of Black Wall Street”—produced in partnership with Atlantic Re:think writer Natalie Chang and comic book illustrator Clayton Henry—is a dynamic, visual story about the 1921 Tulsa Massacre. In a digital experience that combined original, graphic-novel-style illustrations with accurate accounts of the tragedy, HBO shed light on an overlooked event in America’s long history of racial injustice.

From the start, we aimed to deliver a historically accurate depiction of these traumatizing events while also breaking through the daily barrage of news stories and content. To do that, we took a risk: Applying a format typically reserved for superheroes and science fiction—the comic book—to the heart-wrenching injustice that took place in Tulsa. It took endless internal deliberation, thoughtfulness, accuracy, and sensitivity; the reception of the final product proved that to be a worthy effort.

“The Massacre of Black Wall Street” now ranks among The Atlantic’s highest performing programs.

Project link here.