Survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre are calling for the identification of those responsible for the violence, according to an attorney representing them. The plea comes shortly after the Department of Justice began interviewing survivors and their descendants as part of the first federal investigation into the racist attack that left as many as 300 people dead.
Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons said even if the guilty are dead themselves, “people want to know.” The DOJ met with survivors and their descendants this week, having announced a civil rights review into the massacre at the end of September.
“It was very clear from everyone they’ve met with over the last 48 hours, including the survivors, that everyone wants a full investigation,” Solomon-Simmons said at a press conference held at The Root Coworking in Tulsa. “Everyone wants actual accountability for the massacre.”
The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre devastated the Greenwood neighborhood, a prosperous Black business district, when a white mob destroyed more than 30 blocks in less than a day.
This week, DOJ officials also “collected evidence” at the massacre site, as part of their investigation under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, which allows for inquiries into civil rights crimes predating 1980 that resulted in death.
Solomon-Simmons urged Tulsa residents to share any documents, diaries, or personal stories related to the massacre. He was joined by survivors’ descendants and U.S. Rep. Al Green of Texas (D), who plans to introduce bills for damages for each of the survivors.
In June, the Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit from the remaining survivors seeking compensation from the state and city, a decision that attorneys for the survivors believe overlooked the lasting effects of the massacre.
The lawsuit was initially filed in 2021 by survivors Viola Fletcher and Lessie Benningfield Randle, with the late Hughes Van Ellis also a plaintiff. Fletcher, now 110, and Randle, who will turn 110 next month, continue to seek acknowledgment for the events that unfolded more than a century ago.
