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Viola “Mother” Fletcher and Hughes “Uncle Red” Van Ellis, sibling survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, and their grandchildren were welcomed into Ghana on Saturday to kick off their week-long visit to the African country.

According to Paris-based France 24, the trip is part of a government campaign to give African descendants an opportunity to come “back home.” Fletcher, 107, and Van Ellis, 100, arrived in Accra, Ghana’s capital, to a crowd of onlookers and government officials waiting to receive them.

The Tulsa World reports that the trip is all-expense-paid and is co-sponsored by Virginia-based social media platform Our Black Truth and the Diaspora Africa Forum, based in Ghana. Democratic state Rep. Regina Goodwin of Tulsa told the World that the trip stemmed from a conversation that Fletcher had with Our Black Truth co-founders Michael and Eric Thompson earlier this year.

From May 31 through June 1, 1921, more than 300 Black residents were murdered and hundreds of Black-owned businesses were destroyed by a white mob that descended upon Greenwood, a neighbourhood in Tulsa, Okla.

Greenwood was known as “Black Wall Street” due to its status as a thriving business district for its affluent Black residents. This year marked the 100th anniversary of the massacre, which is infamously known as one of the worst episodes of racial violence in America’s history.

The World reports that while in Ghana, the survivors and their families will be following strictly observed COVID-19 protocols. They will also have opportunities to meet President Nana Akufo-Addo, visit several historical sites, and take part in a traditional naming ceremony.

During that ceremony, according to the World, Fletcher will be honoured as a Queen Mother and Van Ellis as a Chief.

Source: The Root

Photo Caption:
L-R: Tulsa Race Massacre survivors, Hughes Van Ellis Sr., Lessie Benningfield Randle, and Viola Fletcher, wave and high-five supporters from a horse-drawn carriage before a march in Tulsa, Oklahoma.