Oldest survivor of Tulsa race massacre testifies before House committee: "I have lived through th…

first witness is miss viola fletcher also known if i can mother fletcher thank you i don't have a mother so thank you brother fletcher is the oldest living survivor of the tulsa race massacre she was seven years old when she lived through the massacre mother fletcher you are now recognized to testify is a microphone on yes my name is that okay my name is viola ford fletcher i'm the daughter of lucinda ellis and john wesley ford of tulsa oklahoma i'm the sister of hughes van ellos who is also here today i'm a survivor of the tulsa race massacre two weeks ago i celebrated my 107 birthday today i'm visiting washington d.c for the first time in my life i'm here seeking justice and i'm asking my country to acknowledge what happened in tulsa in 1921. on may 31st and 21 i went to bed in my family's home in greenwood neighbors of tulsa the neighborhood i felt the sleeping that night was rich not just in terms of wealth but in culture femininity heritage and my family had a beautiful home we had great neighbors and i had friends to play with i felt safe i had everything a child could need i had a bright future ahead of me greenwood could excuse me yeah still greenwich had given me the chance to make truly make it in this country when a few hours all of that was gone the night of the massacre i was awakened by my family my parents and five siblings were there i was sold we had to leave and that was it i will never forget the violence of the white mob when we left our home i still see black men seeing being shot black bodies lying in the street i still smell smoke and sea fire i still see black businesses being burned i still hear airplanes flying overhead i hear the screams i have lived through the massacre every day a country may forget this history but i cannot i will not and other survivors do not and our descendants do not when my family was forced to leave tulsa i lost my chance of an education i never finished school past the fourth grade i have never made much money in my country uh state and city took a lot from me despite this i spent time supporting the war effort in the shipyards of california but most of my life i was a domestic worker serving white families i never made much money but to this day i can barely afford my everyday needs all the while the city of this tulsa have unjustly used the names and stories of victims like me to enrich myself and his white allies through the 30s million met two through the thirties millionaires by the tulsa centennial commissioner while i was continue to live in property i am 107 year old and have never been seen justice i pray that one day i will i have been blessed with a long life and have seen the best and the worst of this country i think about the terror horror inflicted upon black people in this country every day this could sub continue maybe has the power to lead us down a better path i'm asking that my country acknowledged what has been happened to me the tremors and the pain the loss and i asked survivors and descendants to be given the chance to speak seek gestures open the door all of you know how easy it is to deny that that a violence mob thirteen your lives and took your property for 70 years the city of tulsa and this chamber of commerce told us that damascus didn't happen like we didn't see it with our own eyes you have have me here right now you see mother randle you see my brother hughes van ellis we live this history and we can't ignore it it it's our lies with us oh my goodness we lost everything that they our homes our churches our newspapers our theaters our lives greenwood represented all the best of what was possible for black people in america and for all for all the people no one cared about us for almost 100 years we in our history have been forgotten washed away this congress must recognize us and our history for black america for the white americans and for all americans with that some justice yes this is it thank you thank you very much we appreciate very much your testimony mother fletcher if we don't learn from history we're doomed to repeat it so thank you for putting us on the right course to learn and to understand and to do better

Channel: CBS News

Views: 569,116

Keywords: viola fletcher, tulsa, greenwood, tulsa race massacre, House of Representatives

Id: xvtYjeWAVbY

Length: 7min 33sec (453 seconds)

Published: Wed May 19 2021