Viola Ford Fletcher

Viola Ford Fletcher, one of the last two survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, died Monday, November 24, 2025, at the age of 111.

Born on May 10, 1914, in rural Comanche County, Oklahoma, to Lucinda Ellis and John Wesley Ford, she was the second of eight children. Her family later moved into the Greenwood District of Tulsa, a thriving Black-owned business and residential area known as "Black Wall Street."

At age seven, Fletcher experienced the horror of the two-day assault by white mobs beginning on May 31, 1921, which destroyed the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was a turning point not only in her life, but in U.S. history.

Her early schooling ended after the fourth grade, in part as a consequence of the trauma and disruption caused by the massacre.

In the years following, she married Robert Fletcher and moved to California, where she worked as a welder in a shipyard during World War II. Later, she returned to Oklahoma and worked for decades as a housekeeper to raise her children.

In later life, Fletcher became a prominent voice for survivors of the massacre and for the enduring legacy of the Greenwood community. In 2021, she testified before Congress seeking recognition and redress. She co-filed a reparations lawsuit against the city of Tulsa and the state of Oklahoma, although the claim was ultimately dismissed.

She published her memoir, "Don't Let Them Bury My Story," in 2023, written with her grandson, Ike Howard, and giving a first-person account of those events and their lifelong consequences.

Her advocacy helped bring renewed attention to historical injustices, forcing Americans to confront one of the most tragic episodes of racial violence in U.S. history. Her life stands as a symbol of both survival and resilience.

By Legacy News Staff

(Image: Brian Stukes/Getty Images)