Hughes Van Ellis was one of the last three survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
- Died: October 9, 2023 (Who else died on October 9?)
- Details of death: Died at a veterans’ facility in Denver of cancer at the age of 102.
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Hughes Van Ellis’ legacy
Ellis was just four months old when the Black neighborhood of Greenwood in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was attacked by a white mob in a 48-hour siege that began on May 31, 1921. Approximately 300 Black residents were killed, and Ellis’ family was one among thousands who were left unhoused after the mob destroyed the homes, businesses, churches, schools, and even a Black-owned hospital in Greenwood. They were left with nothing but the clothes they had on their backs when they fled to safety.
As an adult, Ellis served in the U.S. Army during World War II before returning to demand justice at home. Known as “Uncle Red,” he was among the survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre who fought Tulsa, Tulsa County, the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce, and the state of Oklahoma for reparations. Among those seeking reparations was Ellis’ 109-year-old sister, Viola Fletcher, who currently survives him. Their yearslong struggle for reparations went as far as U.S. Congress, where Ellis, Fletcher, and fellow survivor Lessie Benningfield Randle testified before the House Judiciary subcommittee in 2021. As of his death, their fight for justice is still ongoing.
Notable quote
“My childhood was hard and we didn’t have much. We worried what little we had would be stolen from us. Just like it was stolen in Tulsa. You may have been taught that when something is stolen from you, you can go to the courts to be made whole. You can go to the courts to get justice. This wasn’t the case for us. The courts in Oklahoma wouldn’t hear us. The federal courts said we were too late.” —from Ellis’ testimony before the House Judiciary subcommittee
Tributes to Hughes Van Ellis
Full obituary: The Washington Post
