Viola Ford Fletcher, one of the last survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, dies at age 111

Viola Ford Fletcher, one of the last survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, dies at age 111 Nation Nov 24, 2025 5:00 PM EST

DALLAS (AP) — Viola Ford Fletcher, who as one of the last survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre in Oklahoma spent her later years seeking justice for the deadly attack by a white mob on the thriving Black community where she lived as a child, has died. She was 111.

Her grandson Ike Howard said Monday that she died surrounded by family at a Tulsa hospital. Sustained by a strong faith, she raised three children, worked as a welder in a shipyard during World War II and spent decades caring for families as a housekeeper.

READ MORE: A World War I veteran is the 1st Tulsa Race Massacre victim to be identified in city’s yearslong investigation

She was 7 when the tw