Congressional Hearing on Tulsa Race Massacre

A House Judiciary subcommittee held a hearing marking the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre, when a white mob attacked residents, homes and businesses in a predominantly Black neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Three of the oldest living survivors delivered testimony and shared their childhood experiences and lives following the massacre. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) who chaired the subcommittee, told members there would be questions posed to the survivors, but it was an opportunity for lawmakers to listen. Viola Fletcher, who is now 107 years old, told lawmakers she lives through the massacre everyday, only finishing school through the fourth grade and being a domestic worker for most of her life. Her brother, 100-year-old Hughes Van Ellis told members “we are not asking for a handout...we are asking for justice.” Lessie Benningfield Randle, who spoke remotely, accused the city and local entities of fundraising and profiting off the massacre without permission or consideration to the survivors. “They owe us something. They owe me something…my opportunities were taken from me,” she told lawmakers. 

Note: while the video of the hearing is embedded in entirety here, you may click through to the source on CSPAN, where a sidebar menu has highlights of the testimony starred.