Today we honor Viola Fletcher.
Viola “Mother” Fletcher is the oldest survivor of the Tulsa race massacre (she was 7 at the time). She is 109 years old.
At the age of 107, she testified before congress.
Viola Fletcher (née Ford; born May 5, 1914), also known as Mother Fletcher, is the oldest known survivor of the Tulsa race massacre. One hundred years after the massacre, she testified before Congress about the need for reparations.
Fletcher was born May 5, 1914, in Comanche, Oklahoma, to Lucinda Ellis and John Wesley Ford. She was the second oldest of eight children. She had a younger brother, Hughes Van Ellis, who was a newborn at the time of the massacre; Ellis died on October 9, 2023, at the age of 102. The house had no electricity. Before moving to Tulsa the family were sharecroppers. In Tulsa the family attended St. Andrew, a Black Baptist church.
Fletcher told Congress that due to family circumstances after the massacre, she left school after the 4th grade.
Wikipedia
Viola Ford Fletcher smiles as her mind burrows back in time more than a hundred years. “We were happy then,” she says wistfully. “Before this happened, we had children in the neighbourhood to play with. We had schools, churches, hospitals, theatres and anything that people enjoyed. It was a strong community.”
“This” refers to the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, when a white mob descended on the neighbourhood of Greenwood, home to a business district known as Black Wall Street, killing an estimated 300 people and looting and burning businesses and homes. Thousands were left homeless and living in a hastily constructed internment camp.
– The Guardian
Viola Ford Fletcher’s memoir Don’t Let Them Bury My Story vividly recounts the lasting impact of the Tulsa Massacre on her life. As the oldest survivor and last living witness of the tragic events that unfolded in 1921, she shares her testimony with poignant clarity. From the terror of her childhood as a seven-year-old fleeing the burning streets of Greenwood to her current role as a 109-year-old family matriarch seeking justice for the affected families, Mother Fletcher takes us on a journey through a lifetime of pain and perseverance. Her inspiring story is a powerful reminder that some wounds never fully heal, and we must never forget the lessons of our history.
– Amazon Book Review
Q: Again, how cool is the Austin Public Library?
A: Very cool.
References
CSPAN: Three Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors Viola Fletcher, Hughes Van Ellis and Lessie Benningfield Randle, testify at a House Judiciary Committee hearing to mark the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre
USA Today: Background on the Tulsa Race Massacre
The Washington Post:
Fletcher, her 100-year-old brother, Hughes “Uncle Red” Van Ellis, and a third survivor, 106-year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle, appeared before the subcommittee to push for reparations for one of the worst episodes of racial violence in U.S. history.
PBS: Deep dive – historical Black businesses and entrepreneurship.
[note: full episode is not available, but individual segments can be viewed. The full transcript is available at https://www.pbs.org/wnet/boss/video/boss-the-black-experience-in-business-nguxge/]