Tulsa massacre survivor Lessie Benningfield Randle, 109, made her first public appearance since the Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed her landmark lawsuit last month. Randle, along with fellow survivor Viola Fletcher, 110, had sought damages for the survivors and descendants of the 1921 massacre that killed an estimated 300 black Tulsa residents, displaced thousands and decimated Greenwood, the thriving neighborhood once known as “Black Wall Street,” in a wave of racially motivated violence.
A verdict in Randle and Fletcher’s favor would have been the first ruling to address the long-term damage to Tulsa’s black community caused by the massacre. But the court said that while the plaintiffs’ grievances were legitimate, the lawsuit did not fall within the scope of the state’s public nuisance law.
Randle and Fletcher’s statement Tuesday, read by a trial lawyer on their behalf, said: “We are heartbroken that we may not live long enough to see the State of Oklahoma or the United States of America honestly provide solace and right the wrongs of one of the darkest days in American history. At 109 and 110 years old, we are old and we know we are living on borrowed time … Oklahoma and the United States of America have failed their Black citizens. This failure is profound, systemic, and marred by lip service and clever platitudes.”
The statement described how the two survivors witnessed the atrocities of the massacre, including white pilots flying over the neighborhood and dropping dynamite into the streets, an act considered one of the first air raids on an American city.
No one was prosecuted for the crimes, the city of Tulsa never paid reparations to the victims or otherwise made amends for the massacre, and insurance payments were either unpaid or insignificant. The black Tulsans who survived fled or remained in Oklahoma and lived in fear.
Several speakers at the press conference mentioned Joe Biden’s 2021 meeting, when he met Randle, Fletcher, Fletcher’s younger brother Hughes Van Ellis, who died last year at age 102, and other descendants.
“He sat down with my clients. He promised them he would make sure they got justice,” said Damario Solomon-Simmons, the lead attorney for the Tulsa survivors. “Then he went into the next room and gave a powerful speech telling the nation that he stood with the survivors and descendants of the Tulsa massacre. But now that we have been failed by the courts, now that we have been failed by Congress, we call on President Biden to fulfill his promise to these survivors, to this community, and to Black people across the country.”
The survivors have called on the president and the Justice Department to investigate the Tulsa massacre. The Oklahoma Supreme Court decision has reinforced those calls. In the meantime, attorneys for the survivors have filed a petition for review. During the press conference, they highlighted inconsistencies and perceived problems with the Supreme Court decision.
“This is the American reality, no matter how much politicians try to implement policies that hide our history, this is our collective truth,” Randle’s statement said. “It seems the only justice allowed for Black Americans is sympathetic words and supposed promises that white Americans, our government, and our justice system will do better. But the lip service continues and tangible justice is denied.”
The survivors vowed to “continue to shine a light on the darkest days in American history,” while reiterating their call for the DOJ to investigate Tulsa. The lawsuit included the survivors’ claim of unjust enrichment for the city: There are multiple Black Wall Street tours and other cultural tours and events that purport to educate tourists about the Tulsa massacre but do not benefit the survivors in any way.
Tiffany Crutcher, whose great-grandmother survived the massacre, also spoke, citing Biden’s speech commemorating the 100th anniversary of the massacre.
“Some injustices are so heinous, so horrific, so egregious that they cannot be buried, no matter how hard people try,” Crutcher said, referring to Biden’s words.
“I agree with President Biden 100 percent,” she continued. “We have to face it and we have to show respect for our survivors, the descendants and this community by demanding that the Department of Justice immediately investigate what happened here on this sacred ground over 100 years ago. This community is watching, this nation is watching, history is watching and the survivors that are depicted on these walls are crying out for peace, and this administration has the power to help them rest in peace.”
