Tulsa Race Massacre Survivor To Release Book About Her Life

May 31 marks 102 years since the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

Viola Fletcher, also known as Mother Fletcher, is one of the three last known living survivors of the massacre and she's releasing a memoir about her life.

"Don't Let Them Bury My Story" is the title of Viola Fletcher's first book. She is making history as the oldest author in the Unites States.

Fletcher and her family members were at an event talking about her book, including her baby brother, Hughes Van Ellis, who is also a survivor.

"What happened to us after the violence," Ellis said.

Fletcher's grandson, Ike Howard, is the co-author.

"I told her we need to tell your story. We need to write this down," Howard said.

They want people to know this book is different from other books about the Tulsa Race Massacre, because it's about her life and how the events of the massacre shaped her future.

"It's not just about the race massacre. It's about Viola Ford Fletcher, her thoughts about different things, and different things that happened to our family, like generational trauma that was passed on because of the race massacre," Howard said.

He said it took his grandmother a long time to share her story because she was afraid of what would happen.

"Back then they told everybody, 'if you talk about anything, we're going to kill you. We're going to kill you and your entire family,'" Howard said. “So she thought in her mind she was protecting me.”

Howard said as he became older, he and his grandmother would talk about her experiences, and he began writing them down.

The goal of the book is to pass along the legacy she's going to one day leave behind. The book takes a personal look into her journey of resilience, survival, and overcoming adversity.

People who attended the event were able to pre-order a copy, but the official release of the book is set for the first week of June.  

 You can click here to pre-order the book.