#Viola Ford Fletcher

[mermazeablaze]

I thought some of my Tumblr mutuals would be interested to see this article.

Viola Ford Fletcher, aged 109, just published a memoir 'Don't Let Them Bury My Story' about her experience during the Greenwood/Tulsa Massacre. It will be available for purchase August 15th.

"Her memoir, “Don’t Let Them Bury My Story,” is a call to action for readers to pursue truth, justice and reconciliation no matter how long it takes. Written with graphic details of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre that she witnessed at age seven, Fletcher said she hoped to preserve a narrative of events that was nearly lost to a lack of acknowledgement from mainstream historians and political leaders.

The questions I had then remain to this day,” Fletcher writes in the book. “How could you just give a mob of violent, crazed, racist people a bunch of deadly weapons and allow them — no, encourage them — to go out and kill innocent Black folks and demolish a whole community?”

“As it turns out, we were victims of a lie,” she writes.

Fletcher notes in her memoir just how much history she has lived through — from several virus outbreaks preceding the coronavirus pandemic, to the Great Depression of 1929 and the Great Recession of 2008 to every war and international conflict of the last seven decades. She has watched the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. lead the national Civil Rights Movement, seen the historic election of former President Barack Obama and witnessed the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement."

[gwydionmisha]

Viola Ford Fletcher, oldest living Tulsa Race Massacre victim, publishes memoir

[serious2020]

Viola Ford Fletcher, 108 years old & the oldest living survivor of the Tulsa ‘Black Wall Street’ massacre writes in her memoir, ‘Don’t let them bury my story.’

www.instagram.com/p/CpvQioIrkNk/

[ausetkmt]

Hon. Joseph R. Biden, Jr. President of the United States 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20500

RE: Creating a federal commission by executive order by Juneteenth to study and develop reparations proposals for African Americans

Dear President Biden,

Now more than ever, we know that many of the racial disparities that weigh this country down, and divide people in the US from each other, are unnecessary and can be eradicated if we address the ongoing legacy of enslavement. By righting our wrongs, we can make sure that all families in the US get a fair chance to acquire land, to buy a home, to enjoy good health, and to live without fear about tomorrow. That is why we write to request that you create by Juneteenth an expert commission like that which would be established by a bill in Congress, H.R. 40, the Commission to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act.[1]

As 365 civil rights, human rights, and faith-based organizations and dozens of activists, leaders and celebrities that support H.R. 40 pointed out in a letter on February 4,[2] addressing pervasive anti-Black racism and providing reparations, long overdue, cannot wait another day, year, or decade. We are in a once-in-a-lifetime moment that we cannot let slip away if we are to begin the process of repair.

You have seen first-hand the dire need and ardent demand for repair. Last June, you visited Tulsa and spent time with the three remaining survivors of the race massacre that decimated Black Wall Street. Your historic trip fixed a spotlight on the three known race massacre survivors 107-year-old Viola Ford Fletcher, 107-year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle, and 101-year-old Hughes Van Ellis, on massacre descendants, and on the Black Tulsa community that continues to reel from the effects of white supremacy. Calls for federal action on reparations were loud and ubiquitous during your stay, coming from massacre descendants,[3] rights organizations, and members of the Congressional Black Caucus.[4]

This week, nearly a year after your visit, several of this letter's authors met again with the three known massacre survivors in Tulsa and massacre descendants, where in a courtroom they made their case for justice.  As they race against the clock to secure reparations from the City of Tulsa, we implore you to seize on H.R. 40’s historic momentum by creating a federal reparations commission while the window is still open.

We hope that you will take this opportunity to make good on the promise that you and Vice President Kamala Harris made to Black voters outlined in the Lift Every Voice: The Biden Plan for Black America.[5] In this campaign plan, you pledged to tackle systemic racism and the continuing impacts of slavery by“supporting a study of reparations.” White House press secretary Jen Psaki is quoted as saying you support a study of reparations and White House senior advisor Cedric Richmond said that you support H.R. 40 specifically.[6] It is important to seize this chance to show up for those who have for too long weathered discrimination, abuse, and neglect in their tireless efforts to make this country into what it can and must be.  

The US Congress made history when, on April 14, 2021, the House Judiciary Committee voted to move H.R. 40 to the House floor for full consideration, the first time in the bill’s 32-year history. The bill now has a record level of support with 215 members of Congress committed to voting “yes” when the bill comes to the House floor. This is far more than the bill has ever had and it should pass in the House if voted on. In addition, on March 12, 2022, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) passed a resolution of support for reparations and H.R. 40.[7] But considering US Senate dynamics and timing—there are just a few months left before the end of this 117th Congressional session in January 2023—we are calling on you to work with supporting organizations and House sponsors of H.R. 40 to set up the same commission by executive order by Juneteenth this year.

Juneteenth presents you with an important opportunity to commemorate the end of enslavement while also recognizing much more still needs to be done to create equity and real opportunity for African Americans in the US beyond declaring a national holiday. The Black to white racial wealth gap remains vast, with white households having a median of $188,200, 7.8 times that of Black households at $24,100,[8] a vestige of the legacy of enslavement—which can find its roots in redlining, the Homestead Act, and denying Black people access to federally backed home mortgages—and the failure to address the exploitation, segregation, and violence unleashed on Black people that followed. Moreover, the ongoing impacts of enslavement have resulted in deep psychological harms, including by way of forced separation and collective trauma, which require comprehensive remedy. The Covid-19 pandemic has only widened the inequality. It is also important that this commission be established by Juneteenth so that it can start working and issue recommendations before the next presidential elections.

H.R.40 would establish an expert commission to study the legacy of enslavement and how the failure to address harms stemming from it have resulted in huge racial disparities between white and Black people in: the ability to accumulate wealth and to access health care, education, housing and employment opportunities; environmental outcomes; and policing, among other things. The commission would also recommend proposals for how to provide repair for what the study reveals. This bill does not authorize payments or any specific remedy. It simply creates a commission to study the problem, gather relevant information, extensively involve and consult with impacted communities, and recommend solutions. Like the federal commission that investigated the forced relocation and wrongful incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II, an H.R. 40-style commission can help pave the way for a critical and truthful reckoning and accounting for past harms and the present harms that flow from them.

As states, cities, and other institutions, including the state of California; Wilmington, Delaware; Providence, Rhode Island; Burlington, Vermont; Tullahassee, Oklahoma; Greenbelt, Maryland; Detroit, Michigan; Evanston, Illinois; Georgetown University; the Jesuits; and others pursue reparations at an accelerated pace,[9] it would be sheer irony for the federal government, which sanctioned the kidnapping and trafficking in human beings that slavery entailed, and maintained subsequent anti-Black laws and institutions, to continue to lag behind and circumvent real progress on reparations.

It is in Tulsa where you so powerfully and unequivocally stated: “the only way to build a common ground is to truly repair and to rebuild.”[10] As the 101st anniversary of the massacre approaches, and racial disparities continue to keep communities across the US divided, we could not agree more.

For the above reasons, and those stated in our February 4, 2022, letter referenced above, we hope that we can count on you to take this meaningful first step toward achieving racial justice and realizing reparations for centuries of ongoing harm. We ask that you create a federal commission to study and develop reparations proposals for African Americans similar to that of H.R. 40 by Juneteenth this year. We stand ready to work with you to ensure this happens and kindly request a meeting as soon as possible to discuss the details. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America (N’COBRA) Color of Change  Reparation Education Project Rainbow PUSH Coalition  Faith for Black Lives Black Church PAC  Black Voters Matter Fund   Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference  Church World Service  NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice The Union for Reform Judaism Friends Committee on National Legislation Presbyterian Church U.S.A.  National Consumers League Batrice & Associates  Reparations 4 Slavery Make it Plain Live Free USA  Until Freedom Nikkei Progressives  Nikkei for Civil Rights and Redress   Japanese American Citizens League San Jose Nikkei Resisters  National Nikkei Reparations Coalition  Terence Crutcher Foundation  Human Rights Watch  United Church of Christ, Justice and Local Church Ministries 

Cc: Vice President Kamala Harris, Ambassador Susan Rice, and Senior Advisor Cedric Richmond

[bbynames]

cottagecore names

iris, ivy, fawn, maisie, opal, marie, dorothy, alice, frances, florence, opal, augusta, story, mabel, poppy, mildred, ethel, ida, myrtle, thelma, nell, lucy, kitty, hyacinth, lavender, hattie, blanche, mamie, marjorie, della, fern, clover, willow, honey, mercy, effie, nancy, loretta, alberta, eunice, winnie, sylvie, louisa, adeline, sage, rosa, leona, lillie, agnes, irene, meadow, delilah, sunny, elinor, viola, hazel, edna, minnie, marion, pauline

autumn, storm, river, bear, jasper, herbert, alfred, lawrence, leslie, victor, rowan, linus, finch, aspen, ambrose, florent, huck, lupin, otis, wilde, sydney, vincent, chester, clyde, herman, eugene, elmer, earl, charles, linden, juniper, oak, ford, franklin, george, wilbur, roosevelt, william, luther, forest, march, fletcher, jack, brook, russell, lester, ira, lonnie, ronald, lane, valley, theo, sky, cedar, nicholas, philip, abraham, douglas, cornelius

[annbourbon]

Books on my List

Part 2 || Part 3 || Part 4.... *just in case lol*

♡ Susanna Clarke's Piranesi.

♡ More reccomendations by Neil Gaiman

♡ Demisexuals on Books

♡ The Mad Woman in Literature *Reading List*

♡ Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

♡ The Obsidianite Jewel (fanfic)

♡ Beg for me (Fanfic)

♡ An Indigenous Peoples History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

♡ 4 Classic Novels of China (easy mode/chinese)

♡ Don't let them bury my story by Viola Ford Fletcher

♡ Loveless by Alice Oseman

♡ Nameless (fics, master list)

♡ More books to add to my list

♡ Sci-Fi Novels that are not mysoginistic

[healthstyle101]

Youngest known Tulsa Race Massacre survivor dead at 102

Hughes Van Ellis, Oldest Survivor of Tulsa Race Massacre, Passes Away at 102 Hughes Van Ellis, the youngest known survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, has peacefully passed away at the age of 102. Known affectionately as "Uncle Redd," he spent his later years advocating for justice for his family and fellow descendants of the tragic attack on "Black Wall Street." A World War II veteran and accomplished author, Van Ellis passed away in hospice care in Denver, as confirmed by his family's spokesperson, Mocha Ochoa. After serving in World War II, Van Ellis worked as a sharecropper and raised seven children, all while living in the shadow of the devastating Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. This horrendous event saw a white mob lay waste to the once-thriving Black community of Tulsa. A Fierce Advocate for Justice Damario Solomon-Simmons, one of the attorneys seeking compensation for the survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, reflected on Van Ellis's passionate pursuit of justice. "I'll remember each time that Uncle Redd's passionate voice reached hearts and minds in courtrooms, halls of Congress, and interviews," Solomon-Simmons stated. He emphasized that Van Ellis was more than just a client; he was a partner in the quest for justice and reparations, a source of inspiration and strength during moments of doubt and despair. Van Ellis's life began amidst the chaos of the Tulsa Race Massacre when he was only six months old. The conflict erupted due to escalating tensions between Tulsa's Black and white residents, triggered by a sensationalized report in the white-owned Tulsa Tribune. The report falsely accused a 19-year-old Black shoeshiner of assaulting a 17-year-old white elevator operator. This led to the arrest of the young shoeshiner and the gathering of a Black militia to protect him from a lynch mob. The situation escalated further, culminating in a violent clash between Black and white residents, sparking a devastating 18-hour conflict. A Tragic Legacy During this time, the white mob carried out a scorched-earth campaign against Greenwood, leading to an estimated death toll as high as 300. Over 35 city blocks were razed, approximately 191 businesses were destroyed, and around 10,000 Black residents were forced to flee their homes. While Van Ellis was in New York promoting a memoir co-authored by his older sister, 109-year-old Viola Ford Fletcher, and grandnephew Ike Howard, he shared his desire for the world to understand what Black Tulsans lost due to the massacre. He expressed a longing for justice and reparations for the injustices suffered. Van Ellis, whose 2021 testimony to Congress serves as the foreword to Fletcher's memoir, believed that justice was attainable in his lifetime. He remarked, "We're getting pretty close (to justice), but we aren't close enough. We've got a lot more work to do. I have to keep on battling. I'm fighting for myself and my people." End of an Era With Hughes Van Ellis's passing, only two survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre remain: Viola Ford Fletcher and 108-year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle. In August, Oklahoma's high court decided to reconsider the survivors' reparations lawsuit, following a previous dismissal in July. Mocha Ochoa, the family's publicist, revealed that Van Ellis is survived by a large family, including his daughters Mallee and Muriel Van Ellis, who were his primary caregivers in Denver. Tributes for Van Ellis also poured in from elected officials in Oklahoma. State Rep. Monroe Nichols of Tulsa described him as "a giant" whose name will be remembered by future generations of Tulsans. Van Ellis leaves behind a legacy of patriotism and an unwavering pursuit of justice. Read the full article

[dramatistsguild]

Viola Ford Fletcher Foundation Announces Development of Black Wall Street the Musical, Commissions JP Haynes

https://www.dramatistsguild.com/thedramatist/viola-ford-fletcher-foundation-announces-development-black-wall-street-musical

#TheDramatist

[rebeleden]

Tulsa Massacre Survivor Recalls Her Experience in New Memoir

[blaqsbi]

Post: Viola Ford Fletchers memoir Dont Let Them Bury... https://www.blaqsbi.com/59zM

[nedsecondline]

‘Let the world know’: elderly survivors of the Tulsa race massacre push for justice

Viola Ford Fletcher and her family fled a murderous white mob 102 years ago – today she’s still demanding accountability “I remember seeing people …‘Let the world know’: elderly survivors of the Tulsa race massacre push for justice