Oklahoma judge Caroline Wall dismissed the reparations lawsuit filed by Lessie Benningfield Randle, 108, Viola Fletcher, 109, and her brother, Hughes Van Ellis, 102, the last three known survivors of the Tulsa race massacre.
With the help of their legal team, the three had argued that the damage inflicted during the massacre was a “public nuisance” and were seeking compensation for it. They also wanted to “recover for unjust enrichment” others have gained from the “exploitation of the massacre.
The City of Tulsa countered by requesting that the lawsuit be dismissed with prejudice against refiling and argued that “simply being connected to a historical event does not provide a person with unlimited rights to seek compensation from any project in any way related to that historical event.”
“If that were the case, every person connected to any historical event could make similar unjust enrichment claims against every museum or point of remembrance,” the city stated.
Ike Howard, grandson of Viola Fletcher, expressed his anger about the ruling. “They were blighted and once again not made whole,” he told @CNN.
“We still remain blighted. We wish the D.O.J would investigate. How can we get justice in the same city that created the nuisance? Is justice only for the rich?”
It is expected that the family attorneys will address the possibility of an appeal. #BWLM💕
