Hughes “Uncle Redd” Van Ellis, one of the last known survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, has died, per CNN. He was 102.
On Monday (October 9), Ellis died in Denver, Colorado, according to a family statement shared by Oklahoma Rep. Regina Goodwin.
“He died waiting on justice,” Ike Howard, his grandnephew, told CNN.
In 1921, Ellis was just a few months old when Tulsa’s then-thriving Greenwood District, known by many as Black Wall Street, was destroyed by a white mob during a massacre that left an estimated 300 Black people dead and businesses and homes burned to the ground. Ellis, his older sister, Viola Fletcher, and his loved ones were forced to leave behind their home and a lifetime of opportunities.
“I lost 102 years. I don’t want nobody else to lose that,” Ellis said earlier this year.
Ellis, Fletcher, 109, and 108-year-old Lessie Benningfield Randle were the last three known survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. For years, the three have been fighting to secure reparations for the destruction.
An Oklahoma judge dismissed the survivors’ lawsuit against the city of Tulsa in July. Their attorneys have since appealed the decision.
“Two days ago, Mr. Ellis, urged us to keep fighting for justice,” the family said in a statement.
Ellis, a World War ll veteran, was a “loving family man.” the statement added.
“We celebrate the rare life of Mr. Hughes Van Ellis who inspires us still!” the family said.
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