Viola Fletcher, one of the last survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, dies at 111
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
The oldest survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre died yesterday. Viola Ford Fletcher was 111 years old. Elizabeth Caldwell from member station KWGS has this remembrance.
ELIZABETH CALDWELL, BYLINE: Viola Ford Fletcher was just 7 years old when she fled the prosperous Tulsa neighborhood known as Black Wall Street. She said her family lost everything after an enraged white mob destroyed about 35 city blocks and, according to historians, killed as many as 300 people. In 2023, she testified before a House committee.
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VIOLA FORD FLETCHER: When my family was forced to leave Tulsa, I lost my chance of an education. I never finished school past the fourth grade.
CALDWELL: Fletcher worked as domestic help to white families near Tulsa for most of her life. She raised three children. Fletcher accused the perpetrators of the massacre, who included government officials, of living in wealth while she struggled in poverty.
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FLETCHER: I have been blessed with a long life and have seen the best and the worst of this country. I think about the horror inflicted upon Black people in this country every day.
CALDWELL: But she credited love, not bitterness, as the secret to a long life during an interview last year on her 110th birthday.
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FLETCHER: Being fair and - with others and with their lifestyles and everything. I've always, you know, been on the honest side and cooperate.
CALDWELL: Fletcher did get some private donations throughout the years, but her legal bid for compensation for the massacre from the state of Oklahoma and the city of Tulsa stalled. In an interview last year, her attorney, Damario Solomon-Simmons, said she remained warm-hearted despite the setback.
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DAMARIO SOLOMON-SIMMONS: She has just this great attitude, this wonderful, loving spirit.
CALDWELL: Remembrances for the supercentenarian have been pouring out on social media. Tulsa's first Black mayor, Monroe Nichols, announced the news of her death to the city, calling Fletcher's life a reminder of how far we have come and how far we must still go. For NPR News, I'm Elizabeth Caldwell in Tulsa.
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