An Oklahoma judge has thrown out a lawsuit seeking reparations for the survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The lawsuit, brought by three survivors of the violent racist attack, was dismissed by Tulsa County District Court judge Caroline Wall on Friday. The survivors, all over 100 years old, had alleged that the city of Tulsa violated Oklahoma’s public nuisance law by not taking action against the white mob that caused the violence.
The Tulsa Race Massacre occurred on May 31 and June 1, 1921, when a white supremacist mob attacked Black residents in the affluent Greenwood district of Oklahoma City, also known as Black Wall Street. The violence resulted in the burning of 35 city blocks in Greenwood and approximately 300 deaths.
The lawsuit filed in 2020 claimed that the city and insurance companies failed to compensate the victims of the massacre for their losses. The plaintiffs sought several forms of redress, including an accounting of the losses, the construction of a hospital in north Tulsa, and a victims’ compensation fund.
In her ruling, Judge Wall dismissed the case based on arguments from the city and other state and local agencies. This decision came after Wall had previously allowed the suit to proceed last year and denied the defendants’ motions to have it thrown out.
The survivors’ lawyer did not indicate whether they plan to appeal the judge’s decision. The group Justice for Greenwood, which supports the three survivors, criticized the ruling, saying that it condemns the survivors to languish without justice.
The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre is considered one of the deadliest episodes of racial violence in U.S. history. President Joe Biden marked the 100th anniversary of the event by issuing a proclamation declaring a Day of Remembrance and calling for reflection on the deep-rooted racial terror in the country.
Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum expressed the city’s commitment to various initiatives aimed at acknowledging and addressing the tragedy. These include locating the graves of the massacre victims, promoting economic investment in the Greenwood District, educating future generations about the event, and fostering equal opportunity for all residents.
The dismissal of the reparations lawsuit has sparked debate on seeking justice for historical incidents of racial violence. Some argue that reparations are necessary to address past injustices and provide compensation to the survivors and their descendants. Others believe that it is difficult to assign liability and determine appropriate remedies for events that occurred many decades ago.
Although the lawsuit seeking reparations for the survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre has been thrown out, the conversation surrounding reparations and accountability for historical racial injustices continues. The decision by the Oklahoma judge highlights the challenges in seeking justice for acts of violence that took place over a century ago.
