Judge rules that Tulsa massacre lawsuit seeking reparations can proceed

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The three living survivors of the Tulsa massacre where a white mob killed Black residents and destroyed much of their affluent neighborhood can proceed with a lawsuit seeking reparations for the death and destruction, an Oklahoma judge ruled on Monday.

Tulsa massacre lawsuit

Viola Fletcher, Hughes Van Ellis and Lessie Benningfield made progress towards their fight to force the city of Tulsa to pay reparations for a massacre of its Black residents in 1921.

The three, who are now more than 100 years old, were small children who lived in Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood, which was known as Black Wall Street, a thriving Black community during the Jim Crow era.

Tulsa County District Judge Caroline Wall rejected motions by the defendants, which include the city of Tulsa, to dismiss the case.

As we previously reported, the lawsuit filed in 2020, seeks financial payments and reparations, including a 99-year tax holiday for Tulsa residents who are descendants of victims of the massacre in the north Tulsa neighborhood of Greenwood.

The city argues it should not be forced to pay anything because today’s residents had nothing to do with what happened more than a century ago.

A judge ruled partially in favor of the survivors, allowing a trial to take place. No trial date has been set.

Incident

On May 31 and June 1, 1921, a white mob attacked and set fire to the homes and businesses of Black residents in Greenwood.

The Oklahoma Bureau of Vital Statistics officially recorded 36 dead. A 2001 state commission examination of events was able to confirm 36 dead, 26 Black and 10 white. However, historians estimate the death toll may have been as high as 300.

The area suffered irreparable damage. Thousands of Black citizens were left homeless with over 35 square blocks destroyed.

The massacre is considered one of the worst acts of racial terror in American history.