For decades, many Americans knew little of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Events and news media coverage marking the centennial this weekend are trying to change that, partly by assessing the lasting pain and depth of the horrific attack on the city's Black people—including an examination of how the crime was covered up. Here's a look:
- Viola Fletcher was 7 when the white mob came. She told NBC what she remembers about that night: "People running and screaming. And noise from the air like an airplane. And—just so many things was disturbing, you know. And fires burning, and smelling smoke." Someone went through the area saying "that everybody should leave town, that they were killing all the Black people." Her brother, Hughes Van Ellis, was an infant but was affected by the aftermath. He still can't sleep at night. "I have to have light," he said. "I love light." Fletcher's family woke her up and said they had to leave. She said that night has stayed with her. "Every evening, you know, I kind of have a feeling it's time to run and no telling what might happen."