Living survivors of 1921 Tulsa massacre conferred with Igbo chieftaincy titles

The famous centenarian, Mrs. Viola Floyd Fletcher and her brother, Hughes Van Ellis, also known as "Uncle Red", were on Wednesday, August 18, 2021, ordained as chiefs by the Igbo community in Ghana, one of the largest communities in the country.

At a plush, color-filled ceremony at the palace of the Igbo king in Accra, the centenarians were treated to performances from various Nigerian groups in Ghana including the Yoruba Dancing Group, the Abia State Women, and the Igbo Masquerade Group.

Their visit to the palace was described as historic by the King of the Igbo community in Ghana, HRM Eze Dr., Amb. Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu.

Mrs. Viola Floyd Fletcher, 107, and her brother Hughes Van Ellis, 100, are the oldest living survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

Clad in native outfits, Mrs. Fletcher’s name will be prefixed with the title, Ebube Ndi Igbo, meaning the glory of Igbos, while Hughes Van Ellis Uncle Red will be known with the title, Ikeoha Ndi Igbo, meaning the strength of the Igbos.

Present at the event were chiefs from the Igbo and Yoruba communities in Ghana as well as Minister Esther A. Arewa from the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana.

What the visit means to Nigeria

HRM Eze Ihenetu told MyNigeria.com journalist, Novieku Babatunde Adeola on the sidelines that the historic visit is a win for Nigerians in Diaspora.

"This is a recognition for Nigerians in the diaspora. It’s not an easy thing for the American Embassy, American government to approve that such a state woman be crowned over here, in the palace of Nigerians," HRM Eze Ihenetu said.

He continued: "This is for us, and that is why all of us are here today. So it is a blessing to each and every one of us. Not for me alone, but for everybody and our future to come."

"It is our prayer that such recognition given to us today will never stop, and that we go higher and higher, he added.

What you should know about the Tulsa Race Masaccre

People.com reports that there are just three known survivors left of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre — but between them, they've now had 300 years total to reflect on the horrors and trauma that the infamous night wrought upon them.

Though the massacre, which historians believe may have killed as many as 300 people, has not received nearly as much attention as other historical events in the U.S., it was a devastating turning point for Tulsa, specifically the city's Greenwood District, which was often called "Black Wall Street" for its affluent African-American business district.

Born in 1914, Fletcher was only seven years old when white mobs descended on the thriving Black community in Tulsa’s Greenwood District, also known as Black Wall Street, in 1921, burning it to the ground, Thehill.com reported at a recent hearing after taking legal actions against the city and Oklahoma in seeking reparations over the attack.

Fletcher said when her family left Tulsa, she lost her chance to get an education and “never finished school past the fourth grade.”

Hughes Van Ellis, known as "Uncle Red," who testified alongside his sister is a World War II veteran who served in an all-Black unit of the Army in the China Burma India Theater.

"Because of the massacre, my family was driven out of our home. We were left with nothing. We were laid refugees in our own country. My childhood was hard and we didn't have much. We worried that the little we had would be stolen from us just like it was stolen in Tulsa," he said at the hearing.

Watch videos from the event: