On May 31, 1921, a white mob attacked the Greenwood neighborhood of Tulsa, Oklahoma, known to many as Black Wall Street. The next 18 hours after the attack were a living nightmare.
Viola Fletcher escaped with her family in a horse-drawn buggy, witnessing the chaos unfold in front of her. In her memoir aptly titled “Don’t Let Them Bury My Story,” she tells all about that day.
Fletcher details the gruesome images that stuck with her for a lifetime. The massacre was the result of a 19-year-old Black shoeshine being accused of assaulting a white woman, a common lie that led to violence in those times.
At 108, Fletcher realized her voice was even more critical as many historians and politicians fail to acknowledge this horrific event or try to discount it. Her story preserved the history of Tulsa, ensuring it would never be lost to memory or forgotten due to white fragility.
Those in power do everything in their power to erase our history, but it is up to us to keep our stories. Viola Fletcher, by writing her unforgettable story, did just that. May she rest in power and peace.