Mayor Jim Curd, right, and Ike Howard, grandson of the late Viola Ford Fletcher, unveil a commemorative plaque in honor of Fletcher, which will serve as a permanent tribute at the Bartlesville Area History Museum.
The Bartlesville Area History Museum hosted a brief ceremony Tuesday to unveil a commemorative plaque honoring the late Viola Ford Fletcher (1914-2025), a former Bartlesville resident and the oldest known survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre at the time of her death.
Mayor Jim Curd delivered remarks recognizing Fletcher’s life and legacy.
“She led a remarkable life of resilience, dignity and unwavering strength,” Curd said. “We’re proud to call her our own, and she will always be remembered as a symbol of endurance with an unbreakable spirit. It’s a profound honor to recognize her legacy … it will help ensure that her story and her strength will continue to inspire generations to come.”
Fletcher — known to many as Mother Fletcher — was born May 10, 1914, in Comanche and was only 7 years old when she survived the Tulsa Race Massacre. More than a century later, she continued to share her story publicly, including testimony before Congress in 2021. She published her memoir, “Don’t Let Them Bury My Story,” in 2023.
“She was an extraordinary person who cared deeply about remembrance and justice,” Curd said.
Fletcher raised her family in Bartlesville. She died Nov. 24 in Tulsa and is buried at White Rose Cemetery in Bartlesville. The City Council honored her in December with a mayoral proclamation recognizing her resilience and strength.
The new plaque now serves as a permanent tribute inside the museum — a reminder of Fletcher’s courage and her enduring impact.
Raymond Doswell, executive director of Greenwood Rising Black Wall Street History Center, also spoke during the event to contextualize the history and significance of the Greenwood District, a historic African-American community in Tulsa dating back to the late 1800s and where the Tulsa Race Massacre took place.
“When you come to Greenwood Rising or you see these exhibits that are here, you get to see the rest of the story,” Doswell said.
Doswell said it is a history that many people didn’t talk about or know about, even those who grew up in Oklahoma.
“People didn’t know this part of the history. And, yes, it’s a difficult part of history to talk about. … but when you have resources who were living in plain sight, like Mrs. Fletcher and some of the other folk who were around for years, there are opportunities to learn that history.
“Fortunately, she was able, through the family as well, to chronicle her story, her aspects of that, and not just what happened in the massacre, but you know, what her life was like afterwards. And those are important lessons to learn.”
Tulsa Race Massacre Exhibit Open Through May 29
The dedication coincided with the museum’s current “1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Traveling Exhibit,” on display through May 29. On loan from the Tulsa History Museum, the exhibit features photographs, documents and firsthand accounts detailing the destruction of the Greenwood District — once known as Black Wall Street — and the community’s resilience in the aftermath.
The museum is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday (closed on weekends and holidays) on the fifth floor of City Hall, 401 S. Johnstone Ave. For information, contact museum staff at 918.338.4290 or history@cityofbartlesville.org.