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GREENWOOD DISTRICT, Okla. – In a room filled with the silent portraits of those who bear witness to the horrors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons stood with dignity at the podium for his centenarian clients, 110-year-old Viola Ford Fletcher and 109-year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle. They remain the last two survivors of what can be argued as state-sanctioned domestic terrorism.
Fletcher and Randle Turn to Federal Government After State Court Dismissal
Last month, the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s dismissal of survivors’ claims was yet another blow in a long line of legal failures to them and the descendants of one of America’s darkest days.
The nine-member court upheld a Tulsa district court’s ruling, stating that the plaintiff’s grievances about Greenwood’s destruction, though legitimate, did not fall under the state’s public nuisance statute. Fletcher and Randle are now calling upon President Biden and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to intervene.
“We’re here today because the Oklahoma Supreme Court unjustly dismissed our appeals,” Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons declared.
He recounted the harrowing events of 1921 when a White mob obliterated a thriving Black community in Tulsa, killing an estimated 300 people and displacing 10,000 Black residents. The attack, involving the city of Tulsa, the Tulsa Chamber, Tulsa County, the Oklahoma Military Department-National Guard, and the Tulsa Sheriff’s Office, caused over $200 million in property damage by today’s standards.
Biden Urged to Honor Commitment to Tulsa Massacre Survivors and Descendants
“Just three years ago, right in this very room, my clients, Mother Randle, Uncle Redd, and Mother Fletcher, met with President Joe Biden. He sat down with my clients. Then he went to the next room and gave a robust speech. He promised them that he would see that they get justice. He told the nation that he stood with the survivors and the descendants of the Tulsa Race Massacre,” Attorney Solomon-Simmons said at a press conference inside the Greenwood Cultural Center.
“Well now that we have been failed by the courts. Now that we have been failed by congress. We are calling upon President Biden to fulfill his promise to these survivors, to this community and to Black people across this nation. We hurt for the survivors; we hurt for the descendants; we hurt as a community – as a national Black community for the destruction of Greenwood,” he added.
Decades of Legal and Congressional Failures for Tulsa Massacre Survivors and Descendants
Following the massacre, authorities forced Black residents into internment camps. They required them to wear green tags. Their movement was restricted to when a White employer signed them out. They denied all insurance claims and dismissed the initial lawsuits brought in the aftermath without trial, a failure Solomon-Simmons emphasized. “The courts failed Tulsa’s Black community in 1921,” he said.
The systemic neglect persisted for decades. Solomon-Simmons highlighted the “conspiracy of silence” that lasted 75 years until the formation of the Tulsa Race Riot Commission in 1997. The Commission’s 2001 report acknowledged the need for reparations, but Oklahoma has consistently refused to pay. A federal lawsuit filed by the Reparations Coordination Committee, of which Solomon-Simmons was a part, was dismissed in 2005. Subsequent attempts to pass legislation in Congress from 2007 to 2014 also failed.
Randle’s Heartfelt Plea: A Century of Injustice and Broken Promises
Randle, reflecting on over a century of injustice, delivered a powerful statement: “We are profoundly disappointed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court decision to reject our lawsuit, and we are deeply saddened that we may not live long enough to see the state of Oklahoma or the United States of America honestly confront, and right the wrongs for one of the darkest days in our nation’s history.”
She decried the systemic failures and the superficial promises that have consistently fallen short. “It is 2024, 103 years after the Tulsa Race Massacre, and our legal system continues to deny Black Americans an equal opportunity to seek justice under the law.”
“Despite these obvious crimes against humanity, not one indictment was issued. Most insurance claims remain unpaid, or were paid for only pennies on the dollar. Black Tulsans were forced to leave their homes and live in fear,” her statement reads.
Then she adds, “This is the American reality, no matter how much politicians seek to instill policies that hide our history, this is our collective truth. It seems that the only justice permitted for Black Americans are sympathetic words and supposed promises that White Americans, our government, and our justice system will do better.”
She emphasized the enduring pain and fear among Black Tulsans and condemned the persistent denial of tangible justice. “We are asked to continue to keep our faith in the American justice system and keep waiting for things to get better. We’re tired.”
Notably, Hughes Van Ellis, a third plaintiff in the case, passed away last year at the age of 102. His poignant words from when he was alive still resonate: “Please do not let me leave this earth without justice.” Van Ellis was the younger sibling of Mother Fletcher.
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Hope for Federal Action: Survivors Urge DOJ to Investigate Under Emmett Till Act
As the press conference concluded, Randle and Solomon-Simmons reiterated their call for federal intervention. They urged the United States Department of Justice to investigate the massacre under the Emmett Till Cold Case Act.
The United States enacted the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. Commonly known as the Emmett Till Cold Case Act, it addresses unsolved murders from the civil rights era. Additionally, it can include earlier racially motivated murders, like the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. However, these cases must be “unsolved civil rights crimes.”
“It is not too late to do the right thing,” Randle said, expressing a hope that the federal government might finally address the historical wrongs inflicted on Greenwood.
The survivors’ plea is a stark reminder of the deep-seated racial injustices that continue to plague the nation. It underscores the urgent need for systemic change and accountability.
Before reading, I was dubious of seeking federal intervention. After mention of Emmett Till Cold Case Act, sounds hopeful. I just hope the “civil rights” era of the Act may be a technicality of time. Tulsa was long before the Civil Rights Era. Best of Luck.