Current:Home > ScamsOklahoma Supreme Court dismisses lawsuit of last Tulsa Race Massacre survivors seeking reparations -Quantum Capital Pro
Oklahoma Supreme Court dismisses lawsuit of last Tulsa Race Massacre survivors seeking reparations
View
Date:2025-04-13 10:59:49
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit of the last two survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, dampening the hope of advocates for racial justice that the government would make amends for one of the worst single acts of violence against Black people in U.S. history.
The nine-member court upheld the decision made by a district court judge in Tulsa last year, ruling that the plaintiff’s grievances about the destruction of the Greenwood district, although legitimate, did not fall within the scope of the state’s public nuisance statute.
“Plaintiffs do not point to any physical injury to property in Greenwood rendering it uninhabitable that could be resolved by way of injunction or other civil remedy,” the court wrote in its decision. “Today we hold that relief is not possible under any set of facts that could be established consistent with plaintiff’s allegations.”
Messages left Wednesday with the survivors’ attorney, Damario Solomon-Simmons, were not immediately returned.
The city said in a statement that it “respects the court’s decision and affirms the significance of the work the City continues to do in the North Tulsa and Greenwood communities,” adding that it remains committed “to working with residents and providing resources to support” the communities.
The suit was an attempt to force the city of Tulsa and others to make recompense for the destruction of the once-thriving Black district by a white mob. In 1921 — on May 31 and June 1 — the white mob, including some people hastily deputized by authorities, looted and burned the district, which was referred to as Black Wall Street.
As many as 300 Black Tulsans were killed, and thousands of survivors were forced for a time into internment camps overseen by the National Guard. Burned bricks and a fragment of a church basement are about all that survive today of the more than 30-block historically Black district.
The two survivors of the attack, Lessie Benningfield Randle and Viola Fletcher, who are both now over 100 years old, sued in 2020 with the hope of seeing what their attorney called “justice in their lifetime.” A third plaintiff, Hughes Van Ellis, died last year at age 102.
The lawsuit was brought under Oklahoma’s public nuisance law, arguing that the actions of the white mob continue to affect the city today. It contended that Tulsa’s long history of racial division and tension stemmed from the massacre.
The city and insurance companies never compensated victims for their losses, and the massacre ultimately resulted in racial and economic disparities that still exist today, the lawsuit argued. It sought a detailed accounting of the property and wealth lost or stolen in the massacre, the construction of a hospital in north Tulsa and the creation of a victims compensation fund, among other things.
In 2019, Oklahoma’s attorney general used the public nuisance law to force opioid drug maker Johnson & Johnson to pay the state $465 million in damages. The Oklahoma Supreme Court overturned that decision two years later.
veryGood! (37)
Related
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Four people charged in the case of 2 women missing from Oklahoma
- French president Emmanuel Macron confident Olympics' opening ceremony will be secure
- 2025 Nissan Kicks: A first look at a working-class hero with top-tier touches
- New Zealand official reverses visa refusal for US conservative influencer Candace Owens
- Gun supervisor for ‘Rust’ movie to be sentenced for fatal shooting by Alec Baldwin on set
- Keanu Reeves, girlfriend Alexandra Grant walk 2024 MOCA Gala red carpet: See the photos
- Taylor Swift’s Coachella Look Reveals Sweet Nod to Travis Kelce
- Who are the most valuable sports franchises? Forbes releases new list of top 50 teams
- 'Civil War': Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny break down 'heartbreaking' yet disturbing ending
Ranking
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- 4 people dead after train crashes into pickup at Idaho railroad crossing, police say
- After finishing last at Masters, Tiger Woods looks ahead to three remaining majors
- Ryan Reynolds' Latest Prank Involves the Titanic and That Steamy Drawing
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- 2024 Boston Marathon: How to watch, stream, route and start times
- 2025 Nissan Kicks: A first look at a working-class hero with top-tier touches
- Caitlin Clark joins 'Weekend Update' desk during surprise 'Saturday Night Live' appearance
Recommendation
The company planning a successor to Concorde makes its first supersonic test
Pilot of experimental plane fell out and hit the tail in 2022 crash that killed 2, investigators say
RHOP Star Mia Thornton's Estranged Husband Gordon Shares Bipolar Diagnosis
Tiger Woods: Full score, results as golf icon experiences highs and lows at 2024 Masters
The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
Wife of ex-Harvard morgue manager pleads guilty to transporting stolen human remains
Loretta Lynn's granddaughter Emmy Russell stuns 'American Idol' judges: 'That is a hit record'
Military marchers set out from Hopkinton to start the 128th Boston Marathon