Purpose

This Act may be cited as the “Original Justice for living survivors of the 1921 Tulsa/Greenwood Race Massacre Act”.

Findings

1. (1) In the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Okla-homa, on May 31 and June 1, 1921, following spe-cious allegations that a Black teenager sexually assaulted a White woman, a vicious violent mob of armed White Tulsans encircled Greenwood and terrorized the district’s Black residents for nearly 48 hours.
2. (2) The violent mob murdered and assaulted Black citizens.
3. (3) The vicious mob looted and destroyed the approximately 35-square block Greenwood community, including a Federal post office.
4. (4) The Tulsa Race Massacre left hundreds dead, over 1,500 homes and businesses destroyed, leaving approximately 10,000 Black Tulsans homeless.
5. (5) The Greenwood business district, colloquially known as Black Wall Street, and once considered the wealthiest Black community in the nation, was violently decimated.
6. (6) For over 100 years, the city, county, State, and Federal Governments have failed to ensure any meaningful measure of justice for the victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre.
7. (7) In 2001, the Oklahoma State Commission to Study the Tulsa Race Riot recommended that monetary compensation be paid to survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The State of Oklahoma and City of Tulsa ignored the recommendation, and no monetary compensation has been given to any survivor.
8. (8) Only two of the thousands of victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre, 111-year-old Viola Ford Fletcher and 110-year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle, remain with us. They have continued, for over 100 years, to appeal to our better angels for justice.
9. (9) On September 1, 2020, 110-year-old victim Viola Ford Fletcher and 111-year-old victim Lessie Benningfield Randle filed suit in Oklahoma State court. The suit was sadly dismissed, and the regrettable dismissal was affirmed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court on procedural grounds on June 12, 2024.
10. (10) On June 12, 2024, the Oklahoma Supreme Court, in its decision dismissing the two survivors’ lawsuit, Randle et. al. v. City of Tulsa, et. al., the court acknowledged the legitimacy of the plaintiffs’ grievances but concluded that their claims did not fall within the scope of Oklahoma’s public nuisance statute.
11. (11) On September 30, 2024, the Department of Justice announced that it would review and evaluate the Tulsa Race Massacre under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act.
12. (12) On January 17, 2025, the United States Department of Justice’s report, issued pursuant to the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act, stated that the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 was not merely an episode of mob violence, but a systematic and coordinated act of racial terrorism.
13. (13) Historical precedents show that the Federal Government as a determinant of last resort has taken action to provide recompense relief for victims of blatantly unconscionable mass injustices.

Compensation

Not later than 30 days after receipt of the certification required under subsection (c), the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay $10,398,368 in compensatory damages and $10,398,368 in punitive damages to each surviving victim of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre still alive, as of May 1, 2025 (or, in the event of death prior to such payment, to their estate).

Satisfaction of Claims

The payments made pursuant to section 3 shall be in full satisfaction of all claims a living survivor may have against the United States for any harm described in such section.

Ineligibility for Additional Benefits

Upon payment of the sums referred to in section 3, a living survivor shall not be eligible for any additional compensation or benefits from the Federal Government for any harm described in such section.