Tulsa civil rights attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons is taking his fight for justice to the pages.
In his new book, “Redeem a Nation: The Century-Long Battle to Restore the Soul of America,” Solomon-Simmons brings readers inside his journey to achieve it for the last survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
The book is part-memoir, part-historical novel of his life, the Historic Greenwood District and the events that have, in some part, come to define north Tulsa.
Solomon-Simmons said he wanted to keep the story of Greenwood alive and accessible. Even as a native Tulsan, the tragedy of the massacre was something he didn’t learn about until he left town.
“I went to the great Booker T. Washington High School, which is the crown jewel of Greenwood, and I knew nothing about this until I went to the University of Oklahoma,” he told The Eagle. “The conspiracy of silence was so strong I didn’t know about this until I was sitting in an Intro to African American Studies class.”
In 2020, Solomon-Simmons filed suit against the City of Tulsa, demanding compensation for those affected by the massacre and the ongoing “public nuisance” it caused. The case was ultimately dismissed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court in June 2024.
In 2021, as visitors flocked to Tulsa for the centennial commemoration, he represented the last living survivors: Viola Ford Fletcher, known as Mother Fletcher; Lesslie Benningfield Randle, known as Mother Randle; and Hughes Van Ellis, known as Uncle Red. All three traveled to Washington, D.C. where they gave testimonies in front of the House Judiciary Committee detailing the suffering inflicted on their community.
“The truth of the massacre was delayed, and it’s a conspiracy of silence for 75 years, and then it was basically erased,” Solomon-Simmons said. “(It’s) trying to be erased, and our work has stopped that, and I think the book is timely for what’s going on in America today.”
While the case is no longer active, Solomon-Simmons views “Redeem a Nation” as part of his continued efforts to advocate for the survivors he represented. Ellis and Fletcher have since died over the last few years, leaving Randle as the lone known survivor.
Solomon-Simmons recently appeared on “The View,” where he laid out his hopes for the book released earlier this month.
“A lot of my clients want acknowledgement. They want to be acknowledged that what they’ve experienced was wrong. And they want people to acknowledge them as people,” he told host and fellow attorney Sunny Hostin. “(We do reparations) every single day and we just want it to be done for those who suffered the greatest harm.”
The first-time author is also the founder and executive director of Justice for Greenwood, a nonprofit group seeking to secure reparations for Randle and other descendants of the massacre.
“Redeem a Nation” is available online at Magic City Books, Amazon and other online retailers.
Ismael Lele is a Report for America corps member and writes about business in Tulsa for The Oklahoma Eagle. Your donation to match our Report for America grant helps keep him writing stories like this one; please consider making a tax-deductible gift of any amount today by visiting this link.
