The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
November 25, 2025

Viola Ford Fletcher, Oldest Survivor of Tulsa Race Massacre, Dies at 111
------------------------------------------------------------------------

The oldest survivor of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre has died at the age
of 111. Viola Ford Fletcher was 7 years old when she survived a wave of
attacks by racist white mobs who set fire to homes, businesses and
churches in Greenwood, a thriving African American business district in
Tulsa, Oklahoma, known as "Black Wall Street." Fletcher devoted her life
to raising awareness about the Tulsa race massacre. In 2021, she
testified to Congress ahead of the 100th anniversary of the massacre.

Viola Ford Fletcher: "I will never forget the violence of the white mob
when we left our home. I still see Black men being shot, Black bodies
lying in the street. I still smell smoke and see fire. I still see Black
businesses being burned. I still hear airplanes flying overhead. I hear
the screams. I have lived through the massacre every day. A country may
forget this history, but I cannot. I will not. And other survivors do
not, and our descendants do not."

Viola Ford Fletcher's 2023 memoir is titled "Don't Let Them Bury My
Story." Last year, the Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit
brought by Fletcher and other remaining survivors who sought reparations
from Tulsa.


.