One of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre's last survivors, Viola Ford Fletcher, dies age 111

"She was 7 when the two-day attack began on Tulsa's Greenwood district on May 31, 1921, after a local newspaper published a sensationalized report about a Black man accused of assaulting a white woman. As a white mob grew outside the courthouse, Black Tulsans with guns who hoped to prevent the man's lynching began showing up. White residents responded with overwhelming force."

"Hundreds of people were killed and homes were burned and looted, leaving over 30 city blocks decimated in the prosperous community known as Black Wall Street. I could never forget the charred remains of our once-thriving community, the smoke billowing in the air, and the terror-stricken faces of my neighbors. She described seeing piles of bodies in the streets and watching as a white man shot a Black man in the head, then fired toward her family."

Viola Ford Fletcher died at 111 surrounded by family at a Tulsa hospital. She maintained a strong faith, raised three children, worked as a welder in a shipyard during World War II, and spent decades caring for families as a housekeeper. She was seven when the two-day attack began on Tulsa's Greenwood district on May 31, 1921, after a sensationalized report accused a Black man of assaulting a white woman. Hundreds were killed, homes were burned and looted, and more than 30 city blocks of the prosperous community known as Black Wall Street were decimated. She witnessed charred remains, smoke, piles of bodies, and direct violence toward her family. Fear of reprisals kept her largely silent for decades, and her grandson helped preserve and publicize her experiences while urging education and repair for the community.

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