‘I hear the screams’: Tulsa race massacre remembered
3 years, 6 months ago

‘I hear the screams’: Tulsa race massacre remembered

Al Jazeera  

Viola Fletcher can still hear the screams. I will not, and other survivors do not – and our descendants do not.” As Tulsa marks the 100-year anniversary of the attacks on Monday – and as a reckoning with the US’s long history of anti-Black racism, slavery and state violence continues nationwide – Tulsa massacre survivors and their descendants are still demanding recognition and reparations. “I’m asking that my country acknowledge what has happened to me – the traumas and the pain and the loss.” The massacre An Oklahoma commission released a report in 2001 detailing the deadly violence that engulfed the Greenwood neighbourhood beginning on May 31, 1921 – as well as the racism that led to the hours-long assault on the area, which was also known as “Black Wall Street”. “The history has been actively silenced” for so many years, Scott Lewis said, which is part of what makes the Tulsa race massacre centenary so important. “They need to take some action, but the action they’re taking is not action that incorporates the views or recommendations or input from the survivors.” The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission says on its website that its mission is to educate people about the massacre and its impact, remember the victims and survivors, and “create an environment conducive to fostering sustainable entrepreneurship and heritage tourism” in Greenwood and North Tulsa through events and other activities to mark the 100-year anniversary.

Violence Black City Oklahoma White Survivors Tulsa Fletcher Greenwood Massacre Descendants Tulsa Race Massacre Black Tulsans  survivors  city  violence  race  white  descendants  tulsa  hear  report  remembered  black  greenwood  massacre  screams

History of this topic

Tulsa’s First Black Mayor Plans To Address An Ugly History
3 weeks, 5 days ago

Tulsa’s First Black Mayor Plans To Address An Ugly History

Huff Post  

Oklahoma state Rep. Monroe Nichols is seen during a committee hearing in 2019 in Oklahoma City. Sue Ogrocki via Associated Press Earlier this month, former Oklahoma state Rep. Monroe Nichols was elected the first Black mayor of Tulsa. “I’m not naive to think that this man is not going to be able to do a whole lot without some push …

Monument erected in Tulsa for victims of 1921 Race Massacre
1 month, 1 week ago

Monument erected in Tulsa for victims of 1921 Race Massacre

Associated Press  

TULSA, Okla. — A World War I veteran whose remains were identified earlier this year during a probe into the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre was among those honored in a memorial service Tuesday at Tulsa’s Oaklawn Cemetery. Daniel was the first victim of the massacre to be identified among remains discovered in a mass grave in the city. On May …

Descendants Of Tulsa Massacre Victims Skeptical Of DOJ Review
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Descendants Of Tulsa Massacre Victims Skeptical Of DOJ Review

Huff Post  

In this 1921 image provided by the Library of Congress, smoke billows over Tulsa, Oklahoma. Alvin C. Krupnick Co./Library of Congress via Associated Press The Department of Justice announced on Monday a federal review into the two-day racist massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, more than 100 years ago, when white supremacists killed Black civilians while destroying homes and thriving businesses in …

Justice Department To Launch Review Into 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
2 months, 3 weeks ago

Justice Department To Launch Review Into 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING OKLAHOMA CITY — The Justice Department announced Monday it plans to launch a review of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, an attack by a white mob on a thriving Black district that is considered one of the worst single acts of violence against Black people in U.S. history. The review was launched under a federal cold-case initiative …

Tulsa commission will study reparations for 1921 race massacre victims and descendants
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Tulsa commission will study reparations for 1921 race massacre victims and descendants

Associated Press  

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tulsa officials announced the creation of a new commission to recommend how reparations can be made for a 1921 massacre that destroyed a thriving Black community in the city. The panel will review a 2023 report for the city and a 2001 report by a state commission on Tulsa Race Massacre in which a white mob killed …

A World War I veteran is first Tulsa Race Massacre victim identified from mass graves
5 months, 1 week ago

A World War I veteran is first Tulsa Race Massacre victim identified from mass graves

Associated Press  

OKLAHOMA CITY — A World War I veteran is the first person identified from graves filled with more than a hundred victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre that devastated the city’s Black community, the mayor said Friday. Alison Wilde, a forensic scientist with Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Forensics, said the letter provided by the National Archives convinced investigators that …

First victim of 1921 Tulsa massacre of Black community is identified since graves found, mayor says
5 months, 1 week ago

First victim of 1921 Tulsa massacre of Black community is identified since graves found, mayor says

LA Times  

Crews work at Oaklawn Cemetery during an excavation while searching for bodies from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre on Oct. 27, 2022, in Tulsa, Okla. Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum and officials with Intermountain Forensics said Friday that remains exhumed from the cemetery in the search for victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre have been identified. A World War I …

Last known survivors of Tulsa Race Massacre challenge Oklahoma high court decision
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Last known survivors of Tulsa Race Massacre challenge Oklahoma high court decision

Associated Press  

OKLAHOMA CITY — Attorneys for the last two remaining survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre asked the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday to reconsider the case they dismissed last month and called on the Biden administration to help the two women seek justice. Viola Fletcher, 110, and Lessie Benningfield Randle, 109, are the last known survivors of one of …

What we know about the lawsuit filed by the last survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
6 months, 1 week ago

What we know about the lawsuit filed by the last survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Associated Press  

Attorneys for the two remaining survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre said Thursday they will petition the Oklahoma Supreme Court for a rehearing in the case seeking reparations for one of the worst single acts of violence against Black people in U.S. history. Although the court wrote that the plaintiff’s grievances about the destruction of the Greenwood district, also …

Oklahoma Supreme Court Dismisses Lawsuit Of Last Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors Seeking Reparations
6 months, 1 week ago

Oklahoma Supreme Court Dismisses Lawsuit Of Last Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors Seeking Reparations

Huff Post  

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit of the last two survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, dampening the hope of advocates for racial justice that the government would make amends for one of the worst single acts of violence against Black people in U.S. history. The nine-member court upheld the decision made by …

A final chance for the survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre: ‘This is it’
8 months, 3 weeks ago

A final chance for the survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre: ‘This is it’

CNN  

CNN — There are only two people alive who remember firsthand what the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre was like. One of them is 109-year-old Viola Ford Fletcher, otherwise known as “Mother Fletcher.” She specifically remembers “people getting killed, houses, property, schools, churches, and stores getting destroyed with fire,” she told CNN. Video Ad Feedback 109-year-old Tulsa massacre survivor living in …

Hughes Van Ellis, youngest known survivor of Tulsa Race Massacre, dies at 102
1 year, 2 months ago

Hughes Van Ellis, youngest known survivor of Tulsa Race Massacre, dies at 102

Associated Press  

Hughes Van Ellis, who was the youngest known survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre and who spent his latter years pursuing justice for his family and other descendants of the attack on “Black Wall Street,” has died. After the war, Van Ellis worked as a sharecropper and went on to raise seven children, all in the shadow of the Tulsa …

Hughes Van Ellis: One of the last survivors of Tulsa race massacre dies at 102
1 year, 2 months ago

Hughes Van Ellis: One of the last survivors of Tulsa race massacre dies at 102

Hindustan Times  

Oct 10 - One of the last three known Black Tulsans who lived through a 1921 race massacre in the Oklahoma town has died at 102, his family said. Hughes Van Ellis died at 102 Hughes Van Ellis, who sued the city of Tulsa seeking reparations for one of the deadliest acts of racial violence in U.S. history, died on …

Attorneys for 3 last-known survivors of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre appeal dismissed reparations case
1 year, 4 months ago

Attorneys for 3 last-known survivors of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre appeal dismissed reparations case

The Independent  

Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Attorneys seeking reparations for three living survivors of …

Tulsa race massacre survivors vow appeal after years-in-the-making lawsuit dismissed
1 year, 5 months ago

Tulsa race massacre survivors vow appeal after years-in-the-making lawsuit dismissed

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “We’re certainly going to appeal this case, what …

Judge Dismisses Reparations Lawsuit For Tulsa Race Massacre
1 year, 5 months ago

Judge Dismisses Reparations Lawsuit For Tulsa Race Massacre

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING An Oklahoma judge has thrown out a lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, dashing an effort to obtain some measure of legal justice by survivors of the deadly racist rampage. “The city remains committed to finding the graves of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre victims, fostering economic investment in the Greenwood District, educating future generations …

Judge dismisses lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
1 year, 5 months ago

Judge dismisses lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Associated Press  

An Oklahoma judge has thrown out a lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, dashing an effort to obtain some measure of legal justice by survivors of the deadly racist rampage. “The city remains committed to finding the graves of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre victims, fostering economic investment in the Greenwood District, educating future generations about the worst …

Judge dismisses lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre
1 year, 5 months ago

Judge dismisses lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

LA Times  

In this 1921 image provided by the Library of Congress, smoke billows over Tulsa, Okla. An Oklahoma judge has thrown out a lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. An Oklahoma judge has thrown out a lawsuit seeking reparations for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, dashing an effort to obtain some measure of legal justice by survivors of …

Oklahoma superintendent sparks outrage with claim Tulsa massacre wasn’t about race
1 year, 5 months ago

Oklahoma superintendent sparks outrage with claim Tulsa massacre wasn’t about race

The Independent  

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} A …

Viola Ford Fletcher, oldest living Tulsa Race Massacre victim, publishes memoir
1 year, 5 months ago

Viola Ford Fletcher, oldest living Tulsa Race Massacre victim, publishes memoir

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — Being a centenarian hasn’t slowed down Viola Ford Fletcher’s pursuit of justice. In the last couple of years, Fletcher has traveled internationally, testified before Congress and supported a lawsuit for reparations — all part of a campaign for accountability over the massacre that destroyed Tulsa, Oklahoma’s original “Black Wall Street” in 1921, when she was a child. …

Tulsa race massacre survivors are fighting for justice 102 years after catastrophic attack
1 year, 6 months ago

Tulsa race massacre survivors are fighting for justice 102 years after catastrophic attack

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Now, 102 years later, a lawsuit from Viola …

Scientist: Progress in identifying Tulsa massacre victims
1 year, 8 months ago

Scientist: Progress in identifying Tulsa massacre victims

The Independent  

Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A forensic anthropologist believes investigators are a step …

Presumed descendants of Tulsa massacre victims can give DNA
2 years, 5 months ago

Presumed descendants of Tulsa massacre victims can give DNA

LA Times  

A group prays during a June 2021 ceremony as remains from a mass grave are reinterred at Oaklawn Cemetery in Tulsa, Okla. People who believe they are descendants of victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre can now provide genetic material to help scientists when they begin trying to identify remains of possible victims. Danny Hellwig, laboratory director with Intermountain …

Globalisation and cultural memory
3 years, 1 month ago

Globalisation and cultural memory

The Hindu  

O ur identities, both individual and collective, rest on public memory. Known as the Negro Wall Street of America in early 20th century, Tulsa was home to 11,000 black people; one-tenth of the town’s population, “spanned 35 black areas close to 200 businesses, 31 restaurants, more than two dozen grocery stores, 5 hotels, 4 drug stores and 2 theatres, 1 …

19 bodies reburied amid protests in search for Tulsa victims
3 years, 4 months ago

19 bodies reburied amid protests in search for Tulsa victims

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “The found remains — a skull with a bullet …

Biden decries ‘horrific’ Tulsa massacre in emotional speech
3 years, 6 months ago

Biden decries ‘horrific’ Tulsa massacre in emotional speech

Associated Press  

TULSA, Okla. — An emotional President Joe Biden marked the 100th anniversary of the massacre that destroyed a thriving Black community in Tulsa, declaring Tuesday that he had “come to fill the silence” about one of the nation’s darkest — and long suppressed — moments of racial violence. “Only with truth can come healing.” Biden’s commemoration of the deaths of …

Biden honors victims of Tulsa Race Massacre at centennial event
3 years, 6 months ago

Biden honors victims of Tulsa Race Massacre at centennial event

LA Times  

President Biden led a remembrance Tuesday of one of the nation’s darkest — and long suppressed — moments of racial violence, marking the 100th anniversary of the destruction of a thriving Black community in Tulsa, Okla. President Biden traveled to Tulsa, Okla., on Tuesday to mark a shameful and largely forgotten part of American history, calling for racial reconciliation on …

Editorial: A century after the Tulsa massacre, we have yet to atone for America’s racism
3 years, 6 months ago

Editorial: A century after the Tulsa massacre, we have yet to atone for America’s racism

LA Times  

If you look at the long history of white violence against Black and other nonwhite people in the United States, the rampage through the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Okla., 100 years ago today stands out for its brutality. It is of a piece with our founding practice of race-based slavery; with the 1863 riots in which newly draft-eligible white men …

Tulsa Race Massacre centennial events proceed amid hiccups
3 years, 6 months ago

Tulsa Race Massacre centennial events proceed amid hiccups

Associated Press  

TULSA, Okla. — Joi McCondichie is a native of this city, but her life and career in public education kept her away from home for decades. But the alert was issued given the nature of the commemoration and the “volatile threat environment.” McCondichie said her late grandmother, Eldoris McCondichie, was among the survivors in 1921 who streaming out of Greenwood, …

Tulsa massacre documentaries offer deep dive into tragedy
3 years, 6 months ago

Tulsa massacre documentaries offer deep dive into tragedy

Associated Press  

LOS ANGELES — Several documentary filmmakers — some backed by NBA superstars — are shedding light on the historically ignored Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, one of the most horrific tragedies in American history. “This has to do with African Americans systematically being run off their land with assets and property being destroyed,” said Stanley Nelson, who co-directed “Tulsa Burning: …

Tulsa Race Massacre centennial events proceed amid hiccups
3 years, 6 months ago

Tulsa Race Massacre centennial events proceed amid hiccups

LA Times  

Joi McCondichie is a native of this city, but her life and career in public education kept her away from home for decades. But the alert was issued given the nature of the commemoration and the “volatile threat environment.” McCondichie said her late grandmother, Eldoris McCondichie, was among the survivors in 1921 who streamed out of Greenwood, also known as …

How Tulsa massacre spent most of last century unremembered
3 years, 6 months ago

How Tulsa massacre spent most of last century unremembered

Associated Press  

When the smoke cleared in June 1921, the toll from the massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was catastrophic — scores of lives lost, homes and businesses burned to the ground, a thriving Black community gutted by a white mob. “The consequences of that is a sort of a lie that we tell ourselves collectively about who we are as a society, …

Organizers: Dispute over survivors scrapped Tulsa event
3 years, 6 months ago

Organizers: Dispute over survivors scrapped Tulsa event

Associated Press  

Organizers who called off a headline commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre said Friday the event was canceled after an agreement couldn’t be reached over monetary payments to three survivors of the deadly attack by a white mob, highlighting broader debates over reparations for racial injustice. Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons told The Associated Press that he submitted …

100 Years Later, A Survivor's Story Of The Tulsa Race Massacre
3 years, 6 months ago

100 Years Later, A Survivor's Story Of The Tulsa Race Massacre

NPR  

100 Years Later, A Survivor's Story Of The Tulsa Race Massacre On May 31, 1921, a group of white locals launched an attack on a thriving Black neighborhood in Tulsa, Okla. AILSA CHANG, HOST: On May 31, 1921, almost exactly 100 years ago, a group of white residents launched an attack on a thriving Black neighborhood in Tulsa, Okla. Beginning …

The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre And What Survivors And Descendants Are Owed
3 years, 6 months ago

The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre And What Survivors And Descendants Are Owed

Huff Post  

The Greenwood district is a crime scene. Randle, known as “Mother Randle,” filed a complaint on Sept. 1, 2020, that “seeks to remedy the ongoing nuisance” caused by the massacre and “obtain benefits unjustly received by defendants.” It also names residents of the Greenwood community and members of the predominantly Black area of North Tulsa as “victims of this nuisance.” …

Century after massacre, Black Tulsans struggle for a voice
3 years, 6 months ago

Century after massacre, Black Tulsans struggle for a voice

Associated Press  

TULSA, Okla. — In the early days of Oklahoma’s statehood, an angry white mob fanned by rumors of a Black uprising burned a thriving African American community in the oil boomtown of Tulsa. “ actually recruited Black people to come to Oklahoma on the theory that Oklahoma was the new promised land for these folks,” said Oklahoma historian Hannibal Johnson, …

100 years after Tulsa Race Massacre, the damage remains
3 years, 6 months ago

100 years after Tulsa Race Massacre, the damage remains

Associated Press  

TULSA, Okla. — On a recent Sunday, Ernestine Alpha Gibbs returned to Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church. And not that Black Tulsa ever really recovered from the devastation that took place 100 years ago, when nearly every structure in Greenwood, the fabled Black Wall Street, was flattened -- aside from Vernon AME. “Greenwood proved that if you had assets, you …

Biden to visit Tulsa for 100th anniversary of race massacre
3 years, 6 months ago

Biden to visit Tulsa for 100th anniversary of race massacre

Associated Press  

TULSA, Okla. — President Joe Biden will visit Tulsa next week to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1921 massacre that claimed up to hundreds of lives in the city. The White House said Tuesday that Biden will visit Tulsa on June 1. His trip comes just under a year after then-President Donald Trump picked Tulsa as the site for …

A Century After The Race Massacre, Tulsa Confronts Its Bloody Past
3 years, 7 months ago

A Century After The Race Massacre, Tulsa Confronts Its Bloody Past

NPR  

A Century After The Race Massacre, Tulsa Confronts Its Bloody Past Enlarge this image toggle caption Library of Congress Library of Congress It's been 100 years since the Tulsa Race Massacre — one of the worst episodes of racial violence in U.S. history. Enlarge this image toggle caption Nate Palmer for NPR Nate Palmer for NPR "And so, my great-grandmother …

Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors Recall Century-Old Horrors During Congressional Hearing
3 years, 7 months ago

Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors Recall Century-Old Horrors During Congressional Hearing

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Centenarians who survived the 1921 destruction of a thriving Black district in Tulsa, Oklahoma, told members of Congress at a hearing on Wednesday that they are still waiting for justice. “Hopefully now you all will listen to us while we are still here.” The hearing was timed to align with the centennial of what’s known as the …

Survivors Of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Share Eyewitness Accounts
3 years, 7 months ago

Survivors Of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Share Eyewitness Accounts

NPR  

Survivors Of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Share Eyewitness Accounts Enlarge this image toggle caption Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images The day that a white mob came to Greenwood Avenue in Tulsa, Okla., Viola Fletcher was just 7 years old. Sponsor Message Fletcher and two other survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, her younger brother …

Oklahoma governor booted from Tulsa Race Massacre commission
3 years, 7 months ago

Oklahoma governor booted from Tulsa Race Massacre commission

Associated Press  

TULSA, Okla. — The commission formed to observe the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre announced Friday that it had booted Oklahoma Gov. “The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commissioners met Tuesday and agreed through consensus to part ways with Governor Stitt,” the commission’s statement said. It went on to say that while the commission “is disheartened to part …

Lawsuit seeks redress for 1921 massacre of Tulsa’s Black district
4 years, 3 months ago

Lawsuit seeks redress for 1921 massacre of Tulsa’s Black district

Al Jazeera  

A 105-year-old survivor is the lead plaintiff seeking recompense for the ‘public nuisance’ the racist massacre created. It is estimated that up to 300 people were killed during the massacre Tulsa lawyer Damario Solomon-Simmons, who filed the lawsuit along with other members of the Justice for Greenwood Advocates, a team of civil and human rights lawyers, told reporters at a …

Oklahoma Lawsuit Seeks Reparations In Connection To 1921 Tulsa Massacre
4 years, 3 months ago

Oklahoma Lawsuit Seeks Reparations In Connection To 1921 Tulsa Massacre

NPR  

Oklahoma Lawsuit Seeks Reparations In Connection To 1921 Tulsa Massacre Enlarge this image toggle caption Alvin C. Krupnick Co./Library of Congress Via AP Alvin C. Krupnick Co./Library of Congress Via AP A lawsuit filed by a group of Oklahomans is seeking reparations from the city of Tulsa and other local government entities for the ongoing devastation caused by one of …

Attorneys file lawsuit seeking redress for Tulsa massacre
4 years, 3 months ago

Attorneys file lawsuit seeking redress for Tulsa massacre

Associated Press  

Attorneys for victims and their descendants affected by the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre filed a lawsuit in state court on Tuesday against the City of Tulsa and other defendants seeking reparations for the destruction of the city’s once thriving Black district. In the years following the massacre, city and county officials actively thwarted the community’s effort to rebuild and neglected …

Discover Related