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<p>Over a century after a white mob destroyed the nation&#8217;s &#8220;Black Wall Street,&#8221; <strong>Viola Fletcher</strong>, 109, has released a memoir to share her account of the devastating Tulsa race massacre.</p>
<p>This feat makes the survivor, who was only seven years old when the ordeal unfolded, the oldest woman to unveil a memoir, per <a href="https://19thnews.org/2023/08/viola-fletcher-tulsa-massacre-survivor-109-years-old-memoir/?utm_campaign=19th-social&;utm_content=in_" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The 19th</a>.</p>
<h3 style="text-align: center;">Viola Fletcher Says She &#8220;Can Still Smell The Smoke&#8221; From The Tulsa Massacre</h3>
<p>During a sit-down with the publication, Ms. Fletcher spoke on her decision to write <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Let-Them-Bury-Story/dp/1737168405" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>Don&#8217;t Let Them Bury My Story</em></a>. The book tells the oldest-living Tulsa massacre survivor&#8217;s account of the fateful night in question, along with the aftermath.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.tulsahistory.org/exhibit/1921-tulsa-race-massacre/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tulsa Historical Society and Museum</a>, conflicts between the city&#8217;s residents came to a head when a Black man was accused of assaulting a white woman in an elevator in late May 1921. Racial tensions soon escalated, and a white mob wreaked havoc on Tulsa&#8217;s Greenwood District — which contained its affluent Black community — from May 31 to June 1, 1921.</p>
<p>The massacre is estimated to have claimed 300 lives while displacing thousands more, and it&#8217;s burned into Viola Fletcher&#8217;s memory.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I can still smell the smoke &#8230; the burning. I remember the bodies. All the Black bodies in the street. The sound of the guns.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Harrowingly, Fletcher noted, <strong><em>&#8220;I haven&#8217;t forgotten that. I can&#8217;t forget that. &#8230; It doesn&#8217;t go away.&#8221;</em></strong></p>
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<h3 style="text-align: center;">Publishers Apparently Had Reservations About The Memoir: &#8220;I Was Floored&#8221;</h3>
<p>Ms. Fletcher&#8217;s grandson, <strong>Ike Howard</strong>, co-authored the book. Notably, <strong>Margo Ochoa</strong> published the memoir through her newly-established Mocha Media company after no one else took it on.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;I knew this had to get out there. That first conversation with Ike and the family, I knew. I knew that this was too important and powerful not to. So when the doubts and flat-out no&#8217;s came in from publishers, I was floored.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>Ochoa added, <strong><em>&#8220;So many Black stories are out there that could do so much, that deserve to be told.&#8221;</em></strong></p>
<p>As for Howard, he commended his grandmother for her &#8220;strength&#8221; before acknowledging the Tulsa race massacre&#8217;s lingering impact.</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;The trauma and violence from the riots did not stop that night. It’s still happening. We&#8217;re here to make sure people know their stories. To get some kind of justice. That&#8217;s why we’re here.&#8221;</p></blockquote>
<p>He went on to call Viola Fletcher&#8217;s story &#8220;important&#8221; for everyone <strong><em>&#8220;to not just know, but remember.&#8221;</em></strong></p>
<p style="text-align: center;">Shoutout to Ms. Viola Fletcher for making history and keeping her story alive for years to come!</p>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">RELATED: <a href="https://dev.theshaderoom.com/judge-tulsa-race-reparations-survivors/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oklahoma Judge Dismisses Tulsa Race Massacre Reparations Case Filed By Last Three Known Survivors</a></h5>
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