Angel Of Greenwood

Train tracks physically separate the Black community of Greenwood from the white community of Tulsa. Train tracks are a literal border separating the two communities by race, but they’re also a symbolic border representing racial inequality and segregation. To further emphasize this symbolism, some of the trains that drive on the tracks are forbidden to Black people. Every time Angel sees one of these forbidden trains, she’s reminded of segregation, which necessarily implies inequality. When she’s not looking at the trains, she can focus on the thriving community of Greenwood and tell herself that things are just fine. However, the fancy trains that she’s not allowed to enter are cruel reminders that the residents of Greenwood are not living in true “equality” with their white counterparts in Tulsa.

Although train tracks separate the two communities, they are physically very close to each other so that Black residents of Greenwood can actually see what white residents of Tulsa are doing from their porches. This proximity emphasizes that the Black and white residents of the two communities are not all that “different” except for their race. The closeness of the white neighborhood also serves as a reminder of segregation: Greenwood is not far enough away from Tulsa to pretend that the communities aren’t intentionally and wholly segregated.

Because of the symbolic weight of the train tracks, the act of crossing the tracks is seen as transgressive, trouble-seeking, and potentially violent. When the large group of white boys congregate outside Isaiah’s house in Greenwood, he knows they’re up to no good, and indeed, they’re there to bully anyone they happen to run into. As a target of opportunity, they steal Angel’s crutches and destroy them. The next time white residents cross the train tracks, it’s to destroy the entirety of Greenwood in a race massacre. Tellingly, none of the Black residents in the novel cross the tracks into white Tulsa to cause trouble because they are not seeking out violence. Instead, they remain in their community but are ready to defend it when the white mob arrives.