Hughes Van Ellis, One of the Last Known Tulsa Massacre Survivors, Dies at 102

Hughes Van Ellis, one of the last three known survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, has passed away.

Death details

Ellis died in Denver, Colorado, his family said in a statement. He was 102.

Hughes Van Ellis was one of the last three known survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

Ellis was an infant when he and his older sister, Viola Fletcher, fled Tulsa’s Greenwood District with their family as a violent White mob tore through the thriving Black community, ultimately killing hundreds of residents and destroying rows of homes and businesses.

Like a multitude of other Black families, Ellis and his loved ones were forced to leave behind not only their home but a lifetime of opportunities.

“I lost 102 years. I don’t want nobody else to lose that,” he told CNN.

The last two remaining survivors are Ellis’ sister Viola, who is 109, and 108-year-old Lessie Benningfield.

1921 Tulsa Race Massacre

The Tulsa Race Massacre, considered one of America’s deadliest acts of racial violence, was inflicted by a White mob that descended on the area known as “Black Wall Street” and committed arson, shootings and aerial bombings from private planes. As many as 300 people were killed and more than 1,000 homes and businesses are estimated to have been destroyed, according to the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum.