With the national spotlight off Tulsa following substantial media coverage of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre centennial anniversary and President Joe Biden's
Advocates for survivors of the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, and their descendants, say they hope a landmark lawsuit filed against the City of Tulsa and other defendants could finally lead to some form of restitution, despite decades of previous effort.
The focus of events marking the anniversary of the attack on Greenwood should be on justice for massacre survivors, not "entertainment," attorneys say.
After months of zero communication and under immense pressure that John Legend and Stacey Abrams may no longer participate if the survivors were not centered, a Zoom call with 10 people was scheduled for Saturday. Immediately following that call our legal team submitted a list of seven requests to ensure the survivors participation with the Commission s scheduled events, Solomon-Simmons said in a prepared statement. Attorney requested $1 million for each living survivor, pledge for Greenwood funding Friday, Solomon-Simmons, a Tulsa native and lead attorney for a reparations lawsuit filed in 2020 on behalf of the survivors and their descendants, told The Oklahoman that he and his co-counsel requested but did not demand funds for survivors and their heirs from the centennial commission. The attorney sent The Oklahoman a copy of an email he sent to the commission asking the group to agree to give $1 million to each of the three living massacre survivors.
Press release content from Business Wire. The AP news staff was not involved in its creation. Last Known Living Survivors Added to Historic Tulsa Race Massacre Lawsuit Led by SolomonSimmonsLaw February 17, 2021 GMT TULSA, Okla. (BUSINESS WIRE) Feb 17, 2021 In a major step forward for the historic Tulsa Race Massacre lawsuit, a 76-page amended petition has been filed in the suit, adding two previously-unknown living survivors of the Massacre, among other significant developments. The team filing the amended petition is led by Tulsa attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons of SolomonSimmonsLaw, and consists of a group of leading civil and human rights lawyers, as well as lawyers from New York-based law firm Schulte Roth & Zabel (SRZ).