The Oklahoma Supreme Court has dismissed a lawsuit seeking compensation from two survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst acts of racial violence in which a white mob killed more than 300 black people and destroyed a thriving black neighborhood called Black Wall Street.
The nine-judge Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit brought by the last two survivors of the riot, finding that while the plaintiffs’ complaints were valid, they did not fall within the scope of the state’s public nuisance law.
“Furthermore, we find that plaintiffs’ allegations do not provide sufficient evidence to support their unjust enrichment claim,” the court wrote in its decision.
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Smoke billows into the sky above Tulsa, Oklahoma, in this 1921 photo provided by the Library of Congress. The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by the last two survivors of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, dashing hopes by racial justice advocates that the government would make amends for one of the worst acts of violence against Black people in U.S. history. (Alvin C. Krupnick/Library of Congress via The Associated Press)
Fox News Digital reached out to Damario Solomon Simmons, the attorney for survivors Rece Benningfield Rundle and Viola Fletcher, who are now over 100 years old. In a statement to Fox News Digital, the city of Tulsa said it respects the court’s decision.
“The City of Tulsa respects the court’s ruling and recognizes the importance of the City’s ongoing work in the North Tulsa and Greenwood communities,” the city said. “Through our Economic Development and Policy Project, the 1921 Graves Study and the new community vision for Kirkpatrick Heights and Greenwood Master Plan, the City remains committed to working with residents and providing resources to support the North Tulsa and Greenwood communities.”
FILE – Oklahoma Supreme Court judges are seen at the state Capitol in Oklahoma City, May 19, 2014. The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, dismissed a lawsuit brought by the last two survivors of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, dampening hopes by racial justice advocates that the government would make amends for one of the worst acts of violence against Black people in U.S. history. (AP Photo/Sue Oglocki, File) (Associated Press)
The lawsuit sought to force the city to pay damages for the destruction caused by white rioters in a once-thriving black neighborhood called Greenwood. On May 31 and June 1, 1921, rioters, some of whom had been hastily removed from office, looted and burned what was then known as Black Wall Street.
Rundle and Fletcher filed the lawsuit in 2020. A third plaintiff, Hughes Van Ellis, died last year at age 102.
The lawsuit argued that the surviving victims of the riots were not compensated for their losses, and that the massacre ultimately led to racial and economic disparities that persist to this day.
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The group called for a detailed record of property and wealth lost or stolen in the massacre, the construction of a hospital north of Tulsa and the establishment of a victims compensation fund.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
