New York donors give $1M to Three Tulsa Race Massacre survivors

Business for Good co-founders say Viola Ford Fletcher, Lessie Benningfield Randle and will share the donation.

May 18, 2022

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — The three known living survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre are receiving a $1 million donation from a New York philanthropic organization.

Business for Good co-founders Ed and Lisa Mitzen say 108-year-old Viola Ford Fletcher, 107-year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle and 101-year-old Hughes Van Ellis will share the donation.

Ed Mitzen, a businessman and philanthropist, told reporters in Tulsa that he was prompted to make the donation after reading news reports about the massacre.

Business for Good did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment Tuesday.

Tulsa Race Massacre survivors Lessie Benningfield Randle, Viola Fletcher and Hughes Van Ellis (seated from left) will split a $1 million donation from the Business for Good foundation. (File photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Fletcher, Randle and Ellis previously received $100,000 each from the Tulsa-based non-profit The Justice for Greenwood Foundation.

A Tulsa judge earlier this month rejected a request to dismiss the lawsuit.

Also Read:
Black-owned banks work to modernize in order to better serve communities

The three and descendants of victims are currently suing the City of Tulsa and other entities for reparations for the destruction and lost wealth as a result of the massacre in which a white mob attacked and killed hundreds of Black residents. The mob destroyed what had been the nation’s most prosperous Black business district in the northeastern Oklahoma city.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku, and Android TV. Please download theGrio mobile apps today!