The last three survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, Lessie Benningfield Randle, Viola Fletcher and Hughes Van Ellis Sr., have criticized Friday’s Oklahoma state court dismissal of their lawsuit seeking restitution for themselves and the descendants of those affected by the massacre. They plan to appeal.

Randle, Fletcher and Van Ellis, all over 100 years old, stated through their attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons that they had not been informed of the reasoning for the dismissal beyond a short one-page order released by Judge Caroline Wall. Solomon-Simmons continued the statement, saying:

Like so many Black Americans we carry the weight of intergenerational racial trauma day in and day out. A weight we cannot relinquish or cavalierly dismiss. The dismissal of this case is just one more example of how America’s and specifically Tulsa’s legacy of racial harm, racial distress, is disproportionately and unjustly born by Black communities and black individuals like ourselves.

Mayor of Tulsa GT Bynum responded to the dismissal, saying:

I completely reject the notion that the citizens of Tulsa have benefited from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. I do not think that is true…My hope is that we as a community can work together more on these initiatives, whether that is to search for the graves [of Tulsa Race Massacre victims] or promoting education through institutions like Greenwood Rising or in schools. Or the work that we are doing around Kirkpatrick Heights and Greenwood to see a resurgence of economic investment into the Greenwood District in a way that benefits the surrounding community. These are all things that we are already working on regardless of any lawsuit, and we as a city, we are going to stay focused on those things.

The lawsuit, Randle v. City of Tulsa, was originally filed in 2021 under a “public nuisance” legal theory, based upon the lasting effects of the massacre on “the racial and economic disparities” that still exist within Tulsa, as well as “unjust enrichment” of those who are in power in the city due to the massacre. Wall dismissed the original suit in 2022 due to “failure to state a cognizable abatement remedy,” but gave the plaintiff’s leave to file an amended complaint.

The Tulsa Race Massacre began on May 21, 1921, when a black teenage boy, Dick Rowland, was accused of allegedly grabbing a white elevator operator’s arm. Rowland claimed he had grabbed the girl’s arm as he tripped and fell in an attempt to steady himself. However, despite disputed evidence, Rowland was arrested. A white mob gathered at the place where Rowland was held, attempting to lynch him. Details are unclear, but it is believed the crowd grew violent, attacking black people who had come to attempt to protect Rowland. This violence continued on through the night, as multiple members of the mob were deputized and city officials allegedly planned an invasion of Greenwood, a primarily black, well-off neighborhood known as the Black Wall Street. Planes dropped explosives on the neighborhood as members of the mob and allegedly Tulsa police shot at black residents and burned down their houses. It is estimated that hundreds died as a result of the massacre, with over 1200 individual homes burned down due to arson and bombing.

Fletcher, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, described her memory of the attack, saying:

I will never forget the violence of the white mob when we left our house. I still see Black men being shot, and Black bodies lying in the street. I still smell smoke and see fire. I still see Black businesses being burned. I still hear airplanes flying overhead. I hear the screams. I live through the Massacre every day. Our country may forget this history. I cannot. I will not. The other survivors do not. And our descendants do not.