People Watch State Supreme Court Arguments About Race Massacre At Greenwood Cultural Center

About a dozen people went to the Greenwood Cultural Center on Tuesday to watch arguments before the State Supreme Court regarding the Tulsa Race Massacre lawsuit.

A Tulsa judge dismissed the lawsuit, and the two known survivors of the massacre are asking the state’s high court to reinstate it. 

The city argued that the judge was correct to dismiss the suit, saying the city wasn’t responsible for the damages caused by the massacre.

Related: Tulsa Race Massacre Survivors Make Appeal To Oklahoma Supreme Court

One person who attended is from California and says he learned about the race massacre when he visited Tulsa last year and believes justice needs to be served for the entire Greenwood District.

Tulsa attorney Damario Solomon represents the two living survivors of the massacre, and he asked the Supreme Court justices to let their lawsuit move forward.

"We're just simply asking that this court give us the opportunity to be remanded back to a district court to prove our claims, and if we have an opportunity to discuss it after the trial, we look forward to that. Thank you," Solomon said.

Kent Fairchild is from California and says he believes the survivors and all those affected since the massacre should be compensated.

"I think justice is, particularly the two last sole surviving survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre. I think justice for them is to be awarded by the jury a monetary amount,” said Fairchild. “I know that the Greenwood community can take that money and put it in a trust, and it would draw interest to benefit all of black Tulsans."

He believes the city of Tulsa bears some responsibility for what happened and Acquanita Martin agrees.

She was also at the Greenwood Cultural Center to watch the arguments and she says it bothers her the two survivors are having to fight for justice when they are 109 years old.

She says this is what justice would look like from her standpoint.

"Give them back their generational land and wealth that they do deserve,” Martin said. “Give it back to them."

John Tucker is an attorney for the Tulsa Chamber of Commerce and argued the judge was right to dismiss the lawsuit because the lawsuit is asking for things a Tulsa County judge cannot do, like replacing buildings, homes and businesses destroyed during the massacre and returning misappropriated land to the black community and changing those things survivors argue, are still causing harm to the Greenwood area.

"The court is being requested to allow a society wide order of abatement to address social issues, health issues, criminal issues," John Tucker, Tulsa Chamber Attorney, said.

Once the State Supreme Court makes its decision, News On 6 will let you know what it is.