Survivors of Tulsa Race Massacre Seek Justice and Reconsideration from Oklahoma Supreme Court

The last two survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, Viola Fletcher and Lessie Benningfield Randle, are seeking justice and restitution for the horrific events they witnessed over a century ago. In a petition for rehearing, their attorneys are asking the Oklahoma Supreme Court to reconsider their case, which was dismissed last month.

Fletcher, 110, and Randle, 109, are the last living witnesses to the violence that took place in the Greenwood District, also known as Black Wall Street, where a white mob killed as many as 300 Black people and destroyed over 1,200 homes, businesses, schools, and churches. Despite the obvious crimes against humanity, no one was held accountable, and Black Tulsans were forced to leave their homes and live in fear.

Attorney Damario Solomon Simmons is also calling on the Biden administration to help the survivors seek justice. He is urging the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into the massacre under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act of 2007.

The lawsuit filed by the survivors aims to hold the city of Tulsa accountable for the destruction and to ensure that any revenue generated from promoting Greenwood or Black Wall Street is placed in a compensation fund for the victims and their descendants. The attorneys argue that Tulsa has appropriated the historic reputation of Black Wall Street for its own financial and reputational benefit.

As the last living survivors of this tragic event, Fletcher and Randle are determined to see justice served and to ensure that the memory of those who lost their lives in the Tulsa Race Massacre is never forgotten.