Judge Shoots Down Progressive Activists' Reparations Case Striking Blow To The Movement

On Friday, a judge in Oklahoma tossed out a case that was seeking reparations for the Tulsa Race Massacre that occurred over 100 years ago in 1921. The lawsuit was filed back in 2020 by three survivors of the attack.

Judge Caroline Wall slapped down the lawsuit, which attempted to force the city and others previously involved to compensate for damages caused to the district of Greenwood, per AP News. The mayor of Tulsa, G.T. Bynum, said that the city has yet to receive the full court order.

The lawsuit claims that since the city and insurance companies never compensated the victims of the massacre, and that many of the problems from the 1921 incident are still in effect today, there should be proper compensation for it. It sought property and wealth that was lost or stolen in the massacre and for a hospital to be constructed in Northern Tulsa, among other things. 

“The city remains committed to finding the graves of 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre victims, fostering economic investment in the Greenwood District, educating future generations about the worst event in our community’s history, and building a city where every person has an equal opportunity for a great life,” he said in the statement. 

Bynum has used his time in office to push for investigations into the location of the graves of the people who died in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The city has employed forensic scientists and genealogists from around the nation to aid the investigation, according to the city website. 

The survivors, Lessie Benningfield Randle, Viola Fletcher, Hughes Van Ellis, and their lawyer have not indicated whether they intend to appeal the decision yet. A group that has been closely tied to the case, Justice for Greenwood, did release a statement claiming the intent to challenge the dismissal. 

“Judge Wall effectively condemned the three living Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors to languish — genuinely to death — on Oklahoma’s appellate docket,” the group said in a statement. “There is no semblance of justice or access to justice here.”

Judge Wall had previously allowed for the case to proceed, deciding in May of 2022 not to dismiss the case, per AP News. The new decision included arguments from the city, regional chamber of commerce, and other state and local government agencies, which seemed to have caused the change in Wall’s decision. 

The decision is undoubtedly a complex one but follows along the lines of many other reparations arguments. The case in Tulsa does have a far more concrete case than much of the reparation activists that ask for money to pay for general racism that has occurred in the past, but ultimately it’s clear why the judge decided against the case. You can’t hold people accountable for actions that happened a hundred years ago when they had no responsibility for them.