Oklahoma Supreme Court rejects Tulsa Race Massacre survivors" lawsuit

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit filed by the last two known survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, Viola Fletcher and Lessie Benningfield Randle, both over 100 years old. The court's decision, made without comment, upheld a previous ruling by a district court judge in Tulsa. The lawsuit sought restitution from the city of Tulsa and others for the destruction caused during the massacre, which resulted in the deaths of up to 300 Black individuals and the destruction of the Greenwood District, known as Black Wall Street. The massacre is recognized as one of the most violent acts against Black people in U.S. history, with thousands displaced and forced into internment camps. Following the dismissal, Fletcher and Randle's attorney, Damario Solomon-Simmons, requested a rehearing and also called for a federal investigation into the massacre under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act. This act allows for the reopening of cold cases related to violent crimes against Black individuals prior to 1970. Solomon-Simmons highlighted President Biden's previous commitment to seek justice for the survivors, urging him to fulfill this promise. The lawsuit was based on Oklahoma's public nuisance law, arguing that the city of Tulsa has profited from the historical significance of Black Wall Street without compensating the victims or their descendants. The court's refusal to reconsider the case leaves the survivors and their advocates seeking alternative avenues for justice and recognition of the historical injustices faced by the Black community in Tulsa.