Oklahoma Supreme Court dismisses Tulsa race massacre case

In an 8 to 1 decision, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has dismissed the Tulsa Race Massacre case.

The last known survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre — Lessie Benningfield Randle and Viola Ford Fletcher. Hughes Van Ellis, left, died in October. Via The Oklahoman

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has dismissed the Tulsa Race Massacre case.

“With respect to their public nuisance claim, though Plaintiffs' grievances are legitimate, they do not fall within the scope of our State's public nuisance statute,” the conclusion reads.

You can read the decision here, via Deon Osborne.

The court ruled 8-1 to uphold a July 2023 decision that dismissed the case.

The case is considered to be the last opportunity for the survivors of the massacre, Lessie Benningfield Randle and Viola Ford Fletcher, to receive compensation for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre that occurred over two days in the city’s thriving Greenwood District, also known as “Black Wall Street.” A white mob killed hundreds of residents and burned down homes and Black businesses.

“There is no going to the United States Supreme Court. There is no going to the federal court system. This is it,” Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons told CNN in April.

The lawsuit, which was filed in 2020 on behalf of Randle, 109, Fletcher, 110, and Hughes Van Ellis, sought damages under Oklahoma’s public nuisance law. Van Ellis, the other survivor of the massacre, died in October at 102.

The City of Tulsa, the defendant, provided the following statement to News 9:

“The City of Tulsa respects the court’s decision and affirms the significance of the work the City continues to do in the North Tulsa and Greenwood communities. Through economic development and policy projects, the 1921 Graves Investigation, and a renewed community vision for the Kirkpatrick Heights & Greenwood Master Plan, the City remains committed to working with residents and providing resources to support the North Tulsa and Greenwood communities.”

In a statement, the legal team for the survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre said they will "file a petition for rehearing with the Oklahoma Supreme Court asking the Court to reconsider its decision."

Related: DNA breakthroughs in the Tulsa Race Massacre invite new possibilities—and old questions