The United States today mourns the loss of a pivotal figure in American history: Viola Ford Fletcher, known affectionately as “Mother Fletcher,” who was the oldest known living survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. She passed away on Monday, November 24, 2025, at the age of 111.
Mother Fletcher was a young child living in the prosperous Greenwood District—”Black Wall Street”—when a white mob attacked and destroyed the community over a two-day period.
Though she was only seven years old during the massacre, the trauma defined her life. She often recounted how her family was forced to flee their home, losing everything but the clothes on their backs.
In her final years, she dedicated herself to fighting for justice, becoming a powerful symbol of resilience. In 2021, on the 100th anniversary of the massacre, she delivered emotional testimony before the U.S. Congress:
Viola Ford Fletcher (2021 Testimony): “I still see Black businesses being burned. I still hear airplanes flying overhead. I hear the screams. I live through the massacre every day.”
Her lifelong pursuit of redress included being a lead plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against the city of Tulsa seeking reparations for the devastation inflicted on the Greenwood community.
Following her passing, Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols stated that Mother Fletcher “carried 111 years of truth, resilience, and grace” and served as a reminder of the nation’s dark history and the unfinished fight for justice.
Her death leaves Lessie Benningfield Randle, who also recently turned 111, as the sole remaining known survivor of the devastating 1921 event.
