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‘Tell the world’: Elderly survivors of Tulsa race massacre demand justice | Tulsa race massacre

viola ford fletcher Her mind goes back over a hundred years and smiles. “We were happy then,” she muses. “Before this incident, there were kids in the neighborhood to play with. There were schools, churches, hospitals, theaters, whatever people enjoyed. It was a strong community.”

“This” is 1921 Tulsa race massacreAn estimated 300 people were killed, and businesses and homes were looted and set ablaze by white mobs in the Greenwood neighborhood, home to the business district known as Black Wall Street. Thousands became homeless and lived in hastily constructed concentration camps.

For most Americans, it’s a history book or a museum exhibit, as alien and distant as Charles Lindbergh or the crash of Wall Street. For Fletcher, it was a childhood scar that never went away.

Now 109 years old, she is still the oldest survivor of the massacre, who still dresses as a nine-year-old with earrings and bracelets. In 2021, the year of our 100th anniversary, “Mother Fletcher” and her brother, Hughes “Uncle Red” Van Her Ellis, testified before the US Congress He went to Ghana to seek reparations, where he was treated like royalty.

Fletcher is now believed to be the world’s oldest author. don’t let them bury my story, a memoir that recounts the impact of the genocide on her life and advocates for racial justice. “Having enjoyed her life so far, I think she should if she can at this point,” she says.

Her debut book tour took her to New York for the first time (“I think all Americans are in New York!”) and her first Amtrak train ride (“It was really historic to me. I thought it was very nice.”) to Washington. On June 10, she is dressed in white, speaking to The Guardian from her wheelchair in the cavernous atrium of a business hotel.

She is joined by her caring grandson, Ike Howard, 56, Foundation Chief Executive. Viola Ford Fletcher Foundation, with operations in the United States and Ghana. His “constant stimulation” persuaded Ms. Fletcher to overcome her fear and tell her story, he says, co-writing the book with Van Ellis, now 102, and contributing the foreword. .

Fletcher was born in Comanche on May 5, 1914, before World War I. Oklahoma. Her parents were sharecroppers before moving to the affluent Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa. On the night of May 31, 1921, she was a carefree seven-year-old girl with her favorite toys, a rag doll, and a future full of possibilities. She was then woken up by her family and told that she had to leave immediately.

In June 1921, a race riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma burned down part of the Greenwood neighborhood. Photo: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

She recalls: “I remember people running and being shot, falling down, houses burning, and the noise of guns firing. The father and mother gathered the six children together, put them in a carriage, and left town safely.”

There are some things that time solves, but at least not fully. More than a century later, Fletcher recounts daily massacres and sleepless nights. Howard explains: It’s 3am and she’s awake. She goes to sleep when the sun rises high in the sky. ”

The family was forced to move from farm to farm, and Fletcher lost the opportunity to pursue an education beyond the fourth grade. she recalls. “They were growing sharecrops. We couldn’t go to school. The days we were supposed to be at school were harvesting crops or something. We kept moving to.We didn’t know where we were going.As children,they didn’t tell us everything.We had to obey.”

Viola Fletcher, 109, known as Mother Fletcher, the oldest survivor of the Tulsa race massacre, poses for a portrait.
Viola Fletcher, known as “Mother Fletcher”, is the oldest survivor of the Tulsa race massacre, aged 109. Photo: Shuran Huang/The Guardian

Fletcher married her husband Robert in 1932 and moved to California during World War II to work as a welder’s assistant at a shipyard. She said, “During the war, when my brothers were on active duty, I worked in a shipyard and helped build ships. I worked there until the war was over.”

She and Robert then returned to Oklahoma, where Fletcher became a domestic worker serving white families (she did not retire until she was 85). She gave birth to two sons and a daughter and now has over 20 great-grandchildren. Her life spanned her century of civil rights struggles with every victory and setback.

For example, Fletcher was 94 when Barack Obama was elected America’s first black president. She recalls: Until then, I probably wasn’t aware of the president or anything else. I’m supposed to know all the presidents, but I don’t. But with this work, I naturally understood that this was our first work. ”

Two years ago, Fletcher traveled to Washington for the first time to acknowledge what happened in Tulsa in 1921. She testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee considering legal remedies and received a standing ovation. She laughed and said: There were parts I didn’t understand well, but I think she was able to say what she wanted to ask. ”

There has never been direct compensation from the city of Tulsa or Oklahoma to survivors of the massacre or their descendants. Racial disparities, exacerbated by gentrification and urban planning, persist in Tulsa today.

Last year, an Oklahoma judge issued an order This allowed Fletcher, Van Ellis, and another survivor, Lessy Benningfield Randle, to continue seeking damages under the State Nuisance Act. The lawsuit alleges that in the years following the massacre, city and county officials actively thwarted the community’s efforts to rebuild in favor of Tulsa’s predominantly white neighborhoods.

Dressed in a colorful t-shirt and gold chain necklace, Howard commented: On her 109th birthday, we were in court. I don’t think the judge knew it was her birthday, but he would consider it personal. They’ll burn your house down, kick you out of town, and court will be held on your 109th birthday.

“I feel like they are waiting for you to die just to get this case over. If you win, you win. If you lose, you lose. If you calm down, you calm down.

Also in 2021, Fletcher visited Africa for the first time. She and her brother met with the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, as well as the Vice President, three Kings and Ambassadors. They were given Ghanaian royal names, then citizenship. she says: She said, “I was trying to find out who our ancestors were.”

“I remember the noise of people running and shot, falling dead, houses burning, guns firing. was recommended to me,
“I remember the noise of people running and shot, falling dead, houses burning, guns firing. was recommended to me,” says Fletcher. Photo: History of Science Images/Alamy

Fletcher, who still lives in Tulsa, and her brother, who is based in Denver, Colorado, make a strong team. Van Ellis, who served in a black-only battalion during World War II, stayed by her side throughout her book tour. Wearing a gray suit with blue pinstripes and a “Veterans 1939-1945” cap, he commented: If you have a family and stick together, you can always get over it.

“She and I went through all this. We went through 1921. I was only five months old. It was the bombing. I served in the US Army: That was the bombing. I was in Burma with the 234th AAA Artillery Battalion. I survived that bombing, so I can say I am blessed. ”

But Van Ellis, like his sister, was robbed of school and career opportunities by the massacre. He has previously said that his family “became refugees in our country”. He eventually became a handyman in Oklahoma City, doing odd jobs such as construction, painting, and plumbing.

he recalls: “If we lived in Tulsa, we probably would have had the chance to get a good education and a decent job. I didn’t.”

Woman sitting in wheelchair outside building
Fletcher recently co-published a memoir, Don’t Let Them Bury My Story, with his grandson Ike Howard. Photo: Shuran Huang/The Guardian

For decades Van Ellis has said that this massacre Taboo topics in TulsaIt is not spoken of by neighbors, it is not taught in schools, it is not commemorated by monuments. “We’ve been taught not to talk about it. They said, ‘Don’t talk about it.’ My family will be killed if I tell them. your dog, your cat. Couldn’t talk about it. I don’t know why, but they said yes. “Don’t talk about it.”

He was relieved when the Conspiracy of Silence ended and the city began to grapple with its past, including searching unmarked mass graves for victims. Visit by Joe Biden Towards the 100th anniversary. “You have to live. You can’t stop. You have to keep moving forward. Be the best in the world,” says Van Ellis.

Having fought for the United States abroad, he hopes the book will help him achieve justice at home in the years to come. “This is a new world for me. I am proud of it.”

Van Ellis, who has seven children, 10 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren, is cautiously optimistic about the future of the country he serves. “We’ve seen small changes, but they could be better. We’ve seen some changes, and I think they can be better. I love America and I love the American people.” ”

And he intends to live another 28 years. what’s his secret? spinach. A clearly indomitable Van Ellis paraphrases: “I’m Popeye the Sailorman / I’ll eat spinach and fight till the end / I’m Popeye the Sailorman!”

Summarize this content to 100 words viola ford fletcher Her mind goes back over a hundred years and smiles. “We were happy then,” she muses. “Before this incident, there were kids in the neighborhood to play with. There were schools, churches, hospitals, theaters, whatever people enjoyed. It was a strong community.””This” is 1921 Tulsa race massacreAn estimated 300 people were killed, and businesses and homes were looted and set ablaze by white mobs in the Greenwood neighborhood, home to the business district known as Black Wall Street. Thousands became homeless and lived in hastily constructed concentration camps.For most Americans, it’s a history book or a museum exhibit, as alien and distant as Charles Lindbergh or the crash of Wall Street. For Fletcher, it was a childhood scar that never went away.Now 109 years old, she is still the oldest survivor of the massacre, who still dresses as a nine-year-old with earrings and bracelets. In 2021, the year of our 100th anniversary, “Mother Fletcher” and her brother, Hughes “Uncle Red” Van Her Ellis, testified before the US Congress He went to Ghana to seek reparations, where he was treated like royalty.Fletcher is now believed to be the world’s oldest author. don’t let them bury my story, a memoir that recounts the impact of the genocide on her life and advocates for racial justice. “Having enjoyed her life so far, I think she should if she can at this point,” she says.I remember people running and being shot, people falling to their deaths, houses burning and making noise.viola ford fletcherHer debut book tour took her to New York for the first time (“I think all Americans are in New York!”) and her first Amtrak train ride (“It was really historic to me. I thought it was very nice.”) to Washington. On June 10, she is dressed in white, speaking to The Guardian from her wheelchair in the cavernous atrium of a business hotel.She is joined by her caring grandson, Ike Howard, 56, Foundation Chief Executive. Viola Ford Fletcher Foundation, with operations in the United States and Ghana. His “constant stimulation” persuaded Ms. Fletcher to overcome her fear and tell her story, he says, co-writing the book with Van Ellis, now 102, and contributing the foreword. .Fletcher was born in Comanche on May 5, 1914, before World War I. Oklahoma. Her parents were sharecroppers before moving to the affluent Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa. On the night of May 31, 1921, she was a carefree seven-year-old girl with her favorite toys, a rag doll, and a future full of possibilities. She was then woken up by her family and told that she had to leave immediately.In June 1921, a race riot in Tulsa, Oklahoma burned down part of the Greenwood neighborhood. Photo: Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/Getty ImagesShe recalls: “I remember people running and being shot, falling down, houses burning, and the noise of guns firing. The father and mother gathered the six children together, put them in a carriage, and left town safely.”There are some things that time solves, but at least not fully. More than a century later, Fletcher recounts daily massacres and sleepless nights. Howard explains: It’s 3am and she’s awake. She goes to sleep when the sun rises high in the sky. ”The family was forced to move from farm to farm, and Fletcher lost the opportunity to pursue an education beyond the fourth grade. she recalls. “They were growing sharecrops. We couldn’t go to school. The days we were supposed to be at school were harvesting crops or something. We kept moving to.We didn’t know where we were going.As children,they didn’t tell us everything.We had to obey.”Viola Fletcher, known as “Mother Fletcher”, is the oldest survivor of the Tulsa race massacre, aged 109. Photo: Shuran Huang/The GuardianFletcher married her husband Robert in 1932 and moved to California during World War II to work as a welder’s assistant at a shipyard. She said, “During the war, when my brothers were on active duty, I worked in a shipyard and helped build ships. I worked there until the war was over.”She and Robert then returned to Oklahoma, where Fletcher became a domestic worker serving white families (she did not retire until she was 85). She gave birth to two sons and a daughter and now has over 20 great-grandchildren. Her life spanned her century of civil rights struggles with every victory and setback.For example, Fletcher was 94 when Barack Obama was elected America’s first black president. She recalls: Until then, I probably wasn’t aware of the president or anything else. I’m supposed to know all the presidents, but I don’t. But with this work, I naturally understood that this was our first work. ”Two years ago, Fletcher traveled to Washington for the first time to acknowledge what happened in Tulsa in 1921. She testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee considering legal remedies and received a standing ovation. She laughed and said: There were parts I didn’t understand well, but I think she was able to say what she wanted to ask. ”There has never been direct compensation from the city of Tulsa or Oklahoma to survivors of the massacre or their descendants. Racial disparities, exacerbated by gentrification and urban planning, persist in Tulsa today.Last year, an Oklahoma judge issued an order This allowed Fletcher, Van Ellis, and another survivor, Lessy Benningfield Randle, to continue seeking damages under the State Nuisance Act. The lawsuit alleges that in the years following the massacre, city and county officials actively thwarted the community’s efforts to rebuild in favor of Tulsa’s predominantly white neighborhoods.Spend the day in court. If you win, you win. If you lose, you lose.But at least the situation will be reconciled to some extent.Ike Howard, grandson of Viola Ford FletcherDressed in a colorful t-shirt and gold chain necklace, Howard commented: On her 109th birthday, we were in court. I don’t think the judge knew it was her birthday, but he would consider it personal. They’ll burn your house down, kick you out of town, and court will be held on your 109th birthday.“I feel like they are waiting for you to die just to get this case over. If you win, you win. If you lose, you lose. If you calm down, you calm down.Also in 2021, Fletcher visited Africa for the first time. She and her brother met with the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, as well as the Vice President, three Kings and Ambassadors. They were given Ghanaian royal names, then citizenship. she says: She said, “I was trying to find out who our ancestors were.”
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/jun/25/tulsa-race-massacre-survivors-congress-justice-reparations ‘Tell the world’: Elderly survivors of Tulsa race massacre demand justice | Tulsa race massacre

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