Hughes Van Ellis, one of the three remaining survivors of the Tulsa race massacre, has passed away at the age of 102.
RELATED: Oklahoma Judge Dismisses Tulsa Race Massacre Reparations Case Filed By Last Three Known Survivors
Hughes Van Ellis Was An Infant When The Tulsa Race Massacre Broke Out
According to KJRH, Ellis died at his Denver, Colorado, home on Monday morning (Oct. 9). He is survived by numerous family members — including his 109-year-old sister, Viola Fletcher. Another Tulsa race massacre survivor named Lessie Benningfield Randle, 108, also survives Hughes Van Ellis.
In a statement from family representative Regina Goodwin, Ellis — aka “Uncle Redd” — was remembered as a “loving family man” who survived “one of the most horrific acts of racist terrorism on American soil.”
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He was less than a year old when white mobs demolished Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood, known as “Black Wall Street.” Hughes Van Ellis later served in WWII and “spent a lifetime awaiting atonement related to the Tulsa Race Massacre.”
Per Goodwin’s statement, Ellis urged people “to keep fighting for justice” shortly before his death.
“Two days ago, Mr. Ellis, urged us to keep fighting for justice. In the midst of his death, there remains an undying sense of right and wrong. Mr. Ellis was assured we would remain steadfast and we repeated to him, his own words, ‘We Are One’ and we lastly expressed our love.”
BREAKING: Hughes Van Ellis, one of the last survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, died this morning in Denver.
He was 102-years-old. pic.twitter.com/EX9ThrewGN
— KSAT Daniela Ibarra (@KSATDaniela) October 10, 2023
Ellis & Other Survivors Filed A Reparations Case, Which Was Recently Dismissed
Hughes Van Ellis’ passing comes over a century after the massacre. Additionally, it arrives three months after an Oklahoma judge dismissed a reparations case filed by Ellis, Fletcher, and Randle, as The Shade Room previously reported.
The trio of survivors filed the lawsuit in 2020, though Judge Caroline Wall dismissed the case with prejudice in July, meaning they wouldn’t be allowed to refile.
According to AP News, a group of supporters — Justice for Greenwood — swiftly slammed the judge’s decision.
“Judge Wall effectively condemned the three living Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors to languish — genuinely to death — on Oklahoma’s appellate docket.”
The group added, “There is no semblance of justice or access to justice here.”
These beautiful souls are Hughes Van Ellis, 102, Lessie Benningfield Randle, 108, and Viola Fletcher, who just turned 109. They are the oldest living survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre. They have received $0 reparations.
And now Judge Caroline Wall has dismissed their case.🤔 pic.twitter.com/3W2n6bi3UQ
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. (@QasimRashid) July 8, 2023
Rest in peace, Hughes Van Ellis.
