Original Justice for living survivors of the 1921 Tulsa/Greenwood Race Massacre Act

In the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on May 31 and June 1, 1921, following specious allegations that a Black teenager sexually assaulted a White woman, a vicious violent mob of armed White Tulsans encircled Greenwood and terrorized the district’s Black residents for nearly 48 hours. During this time, the Federal Government did nothing to aid or defend the residents of Greenwood.

The violent mob murdered and assaulted Black citizens.

The vicious mob looted and destroyed the approximately 35-square block Greenwood community, including a Federal post office.

The Tulsa Race Massacre left hundreds dead, over 1,500 homes and businesses destroyed, leaving approximately 10,000 Black Tulsans homeless.

The Greenwood business district, colloquially known as Black Wall Street, and once considered the wealthiest Black community in the nation, was violently decimated.

For over 100 years, the city, county, State, and Federal Governments have failed to ensure any meaningful measure of justice for the victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre.

In 2001, the Oklahoma State Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot recommended that monetary compensation be paid to survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The State of Oklahoma and City of Tulsa ignored the recommendation, and no monetary compensation has been given to any survivors.

Only two of the thousands of victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre, 111 year-old Viola Ford Fletcher and 110 year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle, remain with us. They have continued, for over 100 years, to appeal to our better angels for justice.

On September 1, 2020, 110-year-old victim Viola Ford Fletcher and 111-year-old victim Lessie Benningfield Randle filed suit in Oklahoma State court. The suit was sadly dismissed, and the regrettable dismissal was affirmed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court on procedural grounds on June 12, 2024.

On June 12, 2024, the Oklahoma Supreme Court, in its decision dismissing the two survivors’ lawsuit, Randle et. al. v. City of Tulsa, et. al. the court acknowledged the legitimacy of the plaintiffs’ grievances but concluded that their claims did not fall within the scope of Oklahoma's public nuisance statute. Specifically, the court stated “Plaintiffs’ grievance with the social and economic inequities created by the Tulsa Race Massacre is legitimate and worthy of merit. However, the [Oklahoma State] law does not permit us to extend the scope of our public nuisance doctrine beyond what the Legislature has authorized to afford Plaintiffs the justice they are seeking.”.

On September 30, 2024, the Department of Justice announced that it would review and evaluate the Tulsa Race Massacre under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act.

On January 17, 2025, the United States Department of Justice’s report, issued pursuant to the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act, stated that the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 was not merely an episode of mob violence, but a systematic and coordinated act of racial terrorism. The report concluded that the massacre was distinguished by its magnitude, barbarity, and white supremacist hostility, resulting in the near-total annihilation of Greenwood—a thriving Black community known as Black Wall Street. The Department characterized the massacre as, “a civil rights crime unique in its scale and devastation”, underscoring the profound and unredressed harm inflicted upon Black Americans in Tulsa and the failure of local, State, and Federal authorities to hold perpetrators accountable.

Historical precedents show that the Federal Government as a determinant of last resort has taken action to provide recompense relief for victims of blatantly unconscionable mass injustices.

In 1988, Congress, as a determinant of last resort, awarded Japanese citizens who were victims of unjust internment, $20,000 each.

In 1990, Congress, as a determinant of last resort, awarded eligible workers injured during work related to uranium mining, $100,000 each.

In 2001, Congress, as a determinant of last resort, established the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund which has, to date, awarded approximately $19,649,000,000 to victims of the September 11th terrorist attack.

In 2015, Congress, pursuant to the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, awarded a five-year $17,000,000 grant initiative to assist aging victims of the Holocaust.

Tulsa Race Massacre victims, 111-year-old Viola Ford Fletcher and 110-year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle, are in the twilight of their lives. Relief action must be taken post haste.

The failure to accord Race Massacre victims, 111-year-old Viola Ford Fletcher and 110-year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle, monetary relief similar to prior historical precedents will become justice denied.

Payment— Not later than 30 days after receipt of the certification required under subsection (c), the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay $10,398,368 in compensatory damages and $10,398,368 in punitive damages to each surviving victim of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre still alive, as of May 1, 2025 (or, in the event of death prior to such payment, to their estate).

Basis— The payment required by subsection (a) shall be to compensate the living survivor for the harm they sustained as a result of the failure of the Federal Government to prevent, investigate, prosecute, or litigate the Tulsa Race Massacre.

Certification— Upon receiving proof of identity in the form of a birth certificate from an individual described in subsection (a), the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights shall certify the payment authorized under subsection (a) to that individual. The Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights may not require any additional information from such an individual to certify such payments.

Judgment fund— The payments under subsection (a) shall be made out of the fund established under section 1304 of title 31, United States Code (commonly referred to as the “Judgment Fund”).