Survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre are prepared to testify on Capitol Hill this Wednesday. Their testimony will be included in a House Judiciary Subcommittee's hearing regarding the 100th anniversary of the massacre and social injustice that persists today. The list of witnesses includes Lessie Benningfield Randle, Viola Fletcher, and Hughes Van Ellis.
“This year marks the centennial of the Tulsa-Greenwood Race Massacre, yet the survivors and their descendants have never received direct compensation for Massacre-related harms,” the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties stated.
Also, descendants of Tulsa Race Massacre victims will speak before members of Congress. Justice For Greenwood Founder Damario Solomon-Simmons, law professor Eric Miller, state legislator Regina Goodwin, African Ancestral Society President Chief Amusan and Dr. Tiffany Crutcher will testify.
Wednesday's hearing will mark the second time that the subcommittee has met regarding the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. After the Supreme Court barred a lawsuit that would allow massacre victims and their descendants to seek compensation from the federal government, members of the Tulsa community met with members of Congress. However, a bill that would've granted victims and descendants the ability to seek compensation from the U.S. government was held up in the subcommittee. More recently, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and Sen. Elizabeth Warren have co-sponsored a bill that would prompt the government to formally recognize the atrocity that was the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
“[We condemn] past and present efforts to cover up the truth and shield the White community, and especially State and local officials, from accountability for the Tulsa Race Massacre," the resolution states.
“[This resolution condemns] the continued legacy of racism, including systemic racism, and White supremacy against Black people in the United States, particularly in the form of police brutality.”
Unfortunately, no Senators or Representatives from Oklahoma have co-sponsored the bill.
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