The fight for justice continues 105 years after the Tulsa Race Massacre
Sunday marks the 105-year commemoration of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The events of that day in Tulsa, Oklahoma, still reverberate throughout a community seeking justice.
More than 100 years ago, a white mob attacked the Black neighborhood of Greenwood, leaving 300 people dead, and homes and businesses in ruin.
Before the attack in 1921, Greenwood was a vibrant community. Shops and businesses did so well, the neighborhood was called Black Wall Street.
But there was resentment in some of the white neighborhoods, where some residents reportedly called Greenwood "Little Africa."
A Department of Justice investigation determined the attack was triggered by an unfounded allegation that 19-year-old Dick Rowland assaulted a white woman who operated an elevator he used. The department said this tactic was commonly used to justify violence against Black residents.
They arrested Rowland the next day. The word across town was that they were going to lynch him.
The Justice Department's 126-page report was released in January 2025 following a four-month probe. According to the report, the raid destroyed businesses and was a "coordinated, military-style attack" conducted by a white mob of over 10,000 people.
In addition to the murders and property destruction, victims' money and personal property were stolen, and they were not provided with any aid, the report said.
Survivor Viola Fletcher died in 2025 without receiving any compensation for her loss. Lessie Benningfield Randle, at 111 years old, is the one survivor still alive.
"We call her Mother Randle," Damario Solomon-Simmons, Randall's attorney, told ABC News Live Prime's Linsey Davis in an interview on Thursday discussing his new book, "Redeem a Nation." He added, "Unfortunately our litigation was ended back in 2024, but we continue to push for her because we want her to have actual justice and reparations in her lifetime. She's still seeking it."
The courts have rejected almost all claims for reparations, but Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols, in June 2025, unveiled a $105 million reparations plan for the descendants of the Tulsa race massacre.
The private trust will invest in affordable housing and homeownership, cultural and historic preservation, as well as economic development and education, according to the plan. The DOJ decided it could do nothing either.
"They will get business grants, they also have access to scholarship. Also, there's a big piece of housing in that particular $105 million," Solomon-Simmons said to Davis. "And we want to also make sure that people, the right people, get access to those funds of actual survivors and descendants."
For now, the families have been given an apology from the city of Tulsa and a new museum -- Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street History Center -- that tells the truth of what happened there.
ABC News' Malka Abramoff and Sara Avery contributed to this report.
