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Wednesday, Jun. 4, 2025

Did the survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre ever directly receive any legal settlement or reparations?

Matthew Yim, Oklahoma Watch
no

No individual or institution has been held legally accountable for the injuries caused by the 1921 razing of the Greenwood District, which claimed between 100 and 300 lives and destroyed more than 1,200 homes.

Though victims who suffered loss of personal property filed over a dozen lawsuits, the cases were dismissed in 1937.

The Oklahoma Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot of 1921 recommended prioritizing direct payments of reparations to the survivors and their descendants in 2001, but no action was taken.

In June 2024, the Oklahoma Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by three survivors in 2020 under Oklahoma’s public nuisance laws, having reversed in 2021 the 2019 lower court decision.

Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols proposed on June 1 a $100 million private trust to make amends, but the plan does not involve direct payments to survivors or descendants.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

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