Black community reacts to state Supreme Court decision on Tulsa Race Massacre reparations

In the wake of the state Supreme Court dismissing a lawsuit in which survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre sought reparations, some in the Black community said the court’s decision was expected but they remained disappointed.  “It’s not surprising, but it is very disappointing,” Tracie Chandler, a Tulsa community activist, said. “I love my country. I love Tulsa. I wanted Tulsa to rise to its highest potential and it has not done that.” The race massacre is considered one of the worst incidents of domestic terrorism in American history. Between May 31, 1921, and June 1, 1921, mobs of angry white men stormed the well-established and prosperous Black community of Greenwood, also known as Black Wall Street, in Tulsa.  More than 1,000 homes were burned and businesses left in ruins as 35 city blocks were destroyed, and, though just 39 deaths were listed in official records, estimates now put the number at closer to 300. Because the massacre was originally deemed a riot, the Oklahoma Supreme Court immunized insurance companies from liability in 1926, meaning none of the Black home or business owners could make claims for property loss.  Survivors Viola Fletcher, Lessie Benningfield Randle and Hughes Van Ellis...