Summary
Viola Ford Fletcher, one of the last living survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre in Oklahoma, has died at the age of 111. Fletcher was an activist who worked to bring attention to the massacre and its impact, even testifying before Congress in 2021. The Tulsa Massacre was a major episode of racial violence where many Black residents were killed, injured, or displaced.
Key Facts
- Viola Ford Fletcher was a survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre and lived to be 111 years old.
- The Tulsa Massacre occurred when a mob attacked the Black community of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
- The violence led to the death of as many as 300 people and the destruction of 35 city blocks.
- Fletcher was seven years old when the massacre took place.
- The violence began after a white mob demanded the lynching of Dick Rowland, a Black shoeshiner accused of assaulting a white woman.
- Fletcher's family was forced to leave Tulsa and become sharecroppers.
- Efforts to win compensation for victims initially failed due to legal limitations, but the event gained more national attention in later years.
- Fletcher testified before Congress about her experiences on the 100th anniversary of the massacre in 2021.
