Tulsa Bloodbath Survivor, 109, Is Oldest Girl To Unveil Memoir

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Over a century after a white mob destroyed the nation’s “Black Wall Road,” Viola Fletcher, 109, has launched a memoir to share her account of the devastating Tulsa race bloodbath.

This feat makes the survivor, who was solely seven years outdated when the ordeal unfolded, the oldest girl to unveil a memoir, per The nineteenth.

Viola Fletcher Says She “Can Nonetheless Odor The Smoke” From The Tulsa Bloodbath

Throughout a sit-down with the publication, Ms. Fletcher spoke on her resolution to jot down Don’t Let Them Bury My Story. The e-book tells the oldest-living Tulsa bloodbath survivor’s account of the fateful evening in query, together with the aftermath.

In accordance with the Tulsa Historic Society and Museum, conflicts between town’s residents got here to a head when a Black man was accused of assaulting a white girl in an elevator in late Might 1921. Racial tensions quickly escalated, and a white mob wreaked havoc on Tulsa’s Greenwood District — which contained its prosperous Black neighborhood — from Might 31 to June 1, 1921.

The bloodbath is estimated to have claimed 300 lives whereas displacing hundreds extra, and it’s burned into Viola Fletcher’s reminiscence.

“I can nonetheless odor the smoke … the burning. I bear in mind the our bodies. All of the Black our bodies on the street. The sound of the weapons.”

Harrowingly, Fletcher famous, “I haven’t forgotten that. I can’t overlook that. … It doesn’t go away.”

“She recounts her journey from being a 7-year-old lady pressured to flee her neighborhood of Greenwood to testifying earlier than Congress to make sure justice for the victims of the bloodbath.”

Tulsa Bloodbath Survivor, Viola Fletcher, Turns into World’s Oldest Writer https://t.co/XP6VF6IjZ8 pic.twitter.com/bzxkxwVEvj

— Black Lady Nerds (@BlackGirlNerds) June 10, 2023

Publishers Apparently Had Reservations About The Memoir: “I Was Floored”

Ms. Fletcher’s grandson, Ike Howard, co-authored the e-book. Notably, Margo Ochoa printed the memoir by her newly-established Mocha Media firm after nobody else took it on.

“I knew this needed to get on the market. That first dialog with Ike and the household, I knew. I knew that this was too vital and highly effective to not. So when the doubts and flat-out no’s got here in from publishers, I used to be floored.”

Ochoa added, “So many Black tales are on the market that would accomplish that a lot, that need to be instructed.”

As for Howard, he recommended his grandmother for her “power” earlier than acknowledging the Tulsa race bloodbath’s lingering affect.

“The trauma and violence from the riots didn’t cease that evening. It’s nonetheless taking place. We’re right here to ensure folks know their tales. To get some form of justice. That’s why we’re right here.”

He went on to name Viola Fletcher’s story “vital” for everybody “to not simply know, however bear in mind.”

Shoutout to Ms. Viola Fletcher for making historical past and protecting her story alive for years to come back!