The Oklahoma Supreme Court Denies a Request to Reconsider Tulsa Race Massacre Lawsuit Dismissal

The Oklahoma Supreme Court has rejected a request to reconsider its ruling to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the last two known living survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

Without comment, seven members of the court on Tuesday turned away the request by 110-year-old Viola Fletcher and 109-year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle to rehear its June ruling that upheld a decision by a district court judge in Tulsa to dismiss the case.

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Damario Solomon-Simmons, attorney for Fletcher and Benningfield, was not immediately available for comment.

Solomon-Simmons, after filing the motion for rehearing in July, also asked the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into the massacre under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act.

“President Biden sat down with my clients. He promised them that he would see that they get justice,” Solomon-Simmons said at the time.

“Then he went to the next room and had a robust speech where he told the nation that he stood with the survivors and descendants of the Tulsa race massacre … we are calling upon President Biden to fulfill his promise {snip}” Solomon-Simmons said.

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