Viola Fletcher was born in Comanche, Oklahoma, but moved to Tulsa with her family. The Fletchers lived in Greenwood, an affluent neighborhood of black families, known as “Black Wall Street.” On May 31, 1921, mobs of white residents — some supposedly working as deputized agent of local government — attacked and destroyed the homes and businesses in more than 35 square blocks of Greenwood. Seven-year-old Viola was asleep when the massacre erupted. The Fletcher family, along with other residents, fled for their lives. They lost everything but the clothes they were wearing.
One hundred years after the horrible event, Viola and other survivors filed suit against the city of Tulsa, the Tulsa Board of Commissioners and the Oklahoma Military Department, seeking reparations. Despite testimony, the suit was dismissed. Unfettered, Viola testified for reparations before the US Congress, stating:
“I will never forget the violence of the white mob when we left our home. I still see Black men being shot, Black bodies lying in the street. I still smell smoke and see fire. I still see Black businesses being burned. I still hear airplanes flying overhead. I hear the screams”
A Justice Department review in 2024 found that federal prosecution may have been possible a century ago, but there was no longer an avenue to bring a criminal case.
In 2023, Viola, with the help of her grandson, wrote a memoir entitled Don’t Let Them Bury My Story.
She passed away in 2025 at the age of 111.