Current:Home > Contact-usOklahoma Supreme Court dismisses lawsuit of last Tulsa Race Massacre survivors seeking reparations-LoTradeCoin
Oklahoma Supreme Court dismisses lawsuit of last Tulsa Race Massacre survivors seeking reparations
View Date:2024-12-24 00:26:29
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! (2185)
Related
- Cowboys owner Jerry Jones responds to CeeDee Lamb's excuse about curtains at AT&T Stadium
- Taylor Swift Attends Patrick Mahomes’ Birthday Bash After Chiefs Win
- Florida hospitals ask immigrants about their legal status. Texas will try it next
- Meryl Streep Had the Best Reaction to Being Compared to a Jockstrap at 2024 Emmys
- 15 new movies you'll want to stream this holiday season, from 'Emilia Perez' to 'Maria'
- Man accused of charging police with machete fatally shot by Pennsylvania officer
- Lutherans in Walz’s Minnesota put potlucks before politics during divisive election season
- Michigan State Police officer won’t survive injuries from crash on I-75 near Detroit
- Mariah Carey's Amazon Holiday Merch Is All I Want for Christmas—and It's Selling Out Fast!
- Musk deletes post about Harris and Biden assassination after widespread criticism
Ranking
- Arizona Supreme Court declines emergency request to extend ballot ‘curing’ deadline
- An appeals court won’t revive Brett Favre’s defamation lawsuit against Shannon Sharpe
- Sofia Vergara's Stunning 2024 Emmys Look Included This $16 Beauty Product
- Isiah Pacheco injury update: Chiefs RB leaves stadium on crutches after hurting ankle
- Firefighters make progress, but Southern California wildfire rages on
- A rough Sunday for some of the NFL’s best teams in 2023 led to the three biggest upsets: Analysis
- Arrests for illegal border crossings jump 3% in August, suggesting decline may be bottoming out
- Medicare Open Enrollment is only 1 month away. Here are 3 things all retirees should know.
Recommendation
-
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson weighs in on report that he would 'pee in a bottle' on set
-
Texas lawmakers question agency’s ability to oversee $5 billion energy loan program after glitch
-
Emmys 2024: See Sofía Vergara, Dylan Mulvaney and More at Star-Studded After-Parties
-
Suspicious packages sent to election officials in at least 5 states
-
Republican Gabe Evans ousts Democratic US Rep. Yadira Caraveo in Colorado
-
Can noncitizens vote in Pennsylvania elections?
-
2024 Emmys: Pommel Horse Star Stephen Nedoroscik Keeps Viral Olympics Tradition Alive Before Presenting
-
Baby Reindeer’s Nava Mau Reveals the Biggest Celeb Fan of the Series