Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial; Survivors Seek Reparations

The centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, in which the Greenwood District ('Black Wall Street') was destroyed by a white mob and city officials, brought renewed national attention. President Biden visited Tulsa. Three survivors — Lessie Benningfield Randle (107), Hughes Van Ellis (102), and Viola Fletcher (107) — testified before Congress seeking reparations. A 2020 Tulsa Race Massacre Commission report recommended direct payments to survivors and descendants. Oklahoma courts dismissed a reparations lawsuit in 2023; an appeal was pending. The centennial represented both continued community memory and continued denial of redress.