Viola Ford Fletcher, Prominent Tulsa Race Massacre Survivor and Advocate, Dies at 111

Viola Ford Fletcher, long recognized as one of the oldest living survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, died Monday at 111, her grandson Ike Howard said. Oklahoma State Senator Regina Goodwin, who was with the family at a local hospital, also confirmed Fletcher’s death.

“She had a beautiful smile on her face,” Howard said. “She loved life, she loved people.”

Known to many as “Mother Fletcher,” she became a public voice in recent years, giving interviews, testifying about her memories of Greenwood and joining other survivors in legal efforts seeking accountability from the city and related entities. In June 2024 the Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed the survivors’ lawsuit seeking compensation for damages tied to the massacre, delivering a legal setback in a century-long effort for reparations.

Survivor testimony and legacy

Fletcher was seven years old when a white mob attacked Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood on May 31, 1921. In roughly 16 hours the assault gutted about 35 blocks of a thriving Black business district, led to thousands of arrests, and left houses, schools, churches and businesses burned or destroyed. Historic accounts document widespread looting, beatings and killings; many insurance companies later denied claims for the extensive losses, and the Greenwood Cultural Center reports the destruction of two Black hospitals and 1,256 residences.

“It just stays with me, you know, just the fear. I have lived in Tulsa since but I don’t sleep all night living there,” Fletcher said in interviews recalling the trauma she carried throughout her life.

In 2023 Fletcher co-authored a memoir with her grandson, Don’t Let Them Bury My Story, preserving family testimony and firsthand memory of Greenwood. Her legal team and others who worked with her described Fletcher as a tireless advocate whose testimony helped keep the history of the massacre in the public eye.

Survivors, legal efforts and city proposals

With Fletcher’s passing, Lessie Benningfield Randle, also 111, is now the only living survivor of the massacre. Randle sent a message to the Fletcher family when Fletcher became ill, expressing sorrow and love; Randle later said Fletcher’s death “breaks my heart.”

Damario Solomon-Simmons, lead counsel for the survivors, remembered sitting with Fletcher at her hospital bedside and said: “I don’t just see a historic figure or a symbol. I see a woman I sat with, prayed with, laughed with, and went to court with.”

Federal authorities reviewed the events under a civil-rights-era statute but concluded there was no viable path to pursue criminal charges, noting that alleged perpetrators are long deceased and legal limits have expired. Locally, Tulsa’s mayor proposed a private trust exceeding $100 million to fund housing, cultural preservation and a legacy fund for education and local businesses; the proposal does not provide direct cash payments to survivors or descendants.

Fletcher’s brother, Hughes Van Ellis—known as “Uncle Redd” and also a survivor—died in October 2023 at age 102.

Remembering Mother Fletcher

Family members and advocates say Fletcher’s life combined personal resilience with public advocacy. By sharing her memories, participating in courtroom testimony and co-authoring a memoir, she helped ensure that Greenwood’s history — and the ongoing conversation about justice and memory — remain visible. Her death marks the loss of a direct, living witness whose voice helped shape how the massacre is remembered and how its consequences are debated today.