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Viola Ford Fletcher, Oldest Survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, Dies at 111

Her death underscores an unfinished push for repair in Tulsa, where a $105 million plan targets disparities stemming from the 1921 attack.

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Survivors and siblings Viola Fletcher and Hughes Van Ellis listen as U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the centennial anniversary of the Tulsa race massacre during a visit to the Greenwood Cultural Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S., June 1, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Barria/File Photo
Survivors and siblings Viola Fletcher and Hughes Van Ellis attend the soil dedication at Stone Hill on the 100 year anniversary of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S., May 31, 2021. REUTERS/Lawrence Bryant/File Photo
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Overview

  • Fletcher died on Nov. 24, 2025, at a Tulsa hospital, her grandson Ike Howard confirmed, and Mayor Monroe Nichols issued condolences.
  • Known as “Mother Fletcher,” she was widely recognized as the oldest living survivor of the Greenwood massacre prior to her death.
  • Public figures mourned her, including Barack Obama, who praised her for preserving the truth of the massacre and advancing civil rights.
  • She testified before Congress in 2021 and published a 2023 memoir recounting the violence and lifelong trauma she carried from Greenwood.
  • The survivors’ 2020 reparations lawsuit was dismissed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in June 2024, and Tulsa later advanced a $105 million 'Road to Repair' package; Lessie Benningfield Randle is now the lone known survivor.