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.