What do you think?
Rate this book
Don’t Let Them Bury My Story: The Oldest Living Survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre in Her Own Words
A lifetime in the making, DON’T LET THEM BURY MY STORY shares the journey of the oldest survivor and last living witness of the Tulsa Massacre of 1921. In her memoir, Ms. Fletcher, affectionally known as “Mother Fletcher,” takes us through the journey of a terrified seven-year-old girl awakened in the middle of the night and forced to flee her burning neighborhood of Greenwood to the 107-year-old family matriarch testifying before Congress 100 years later to the date seeking justice for the families of the greatest tragedy to take place on American soil.
140 pages, Hardcover
First published May 30, 2023
20 people are currently reading
2914 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
August 13, 2023
I wanted to learn more about the Tulsa Race Massacre, always amazed at how some historical events are allowed to be conveniently hidden away and swept under the carpet. Like most people, I was unfamiliar with this tragedy until just a few years ago. I remember hearing accounts on NPR about people growing up in Tulsa completely unaware this had taken place in their community.
“Don’t Let Them Bury My Story: The Oldest Living Survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre in Her Own Words” is not just about what happened in 1921. Viola Ford Fletcher is now 109 years old and it is her story of how this explosion, this Big Bang affected the lives and destinies of thousands through the shockwaves it generated.
Viola was seven years old when the Black Wall Street, the Greenwood district of Tulsa she lived in, blew up as angry white terrorists attacked. The numbers are argued over, but it seems mobs killed an estimated 300 people and looted and torched more than 1400 homes and businesses. Nearly 10,000 people were left homeless. Airplanes were even used to track people down, with reports of turpentine bombs being dropped.
A particularly gruesome memory pours out during the riot. Viola sees a man, spouting out his allegiance to the KKK… “He held up his shotgun, pointed it, and blew a poor Black man’s head clean o!, right in front of us.” What does seeing that do to a child?
Damage was not just to homes and businesses, but to the psyche of the victims. Promising futures were marred with paranoia and PTSD. These burning after-effects altered the life paths of the victims. This is really what the book is about. You can now fact-check the event on Wikipedia, you can read about the mass grave sites being investigated, but until you read the first-hand account of what people went through it is just another historical entry.
Viola has appeared before Congress to tell her story and is currently in court seeking reparations under Oklahoma’s public nuisance law. The slow grinding wheels of justice? 102 years and counting…
Thank you to Lauren Klouda, Independent Publishers Group, Mocha Media Publishing, and Edelweiss for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
“Don’t Let Them Bury My Story: The Oldest Living Survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre in Her Own Words” is not just about what happened in 1921. Viola Ford Fletcher is now 109 years old and it is her story of how this explosion, this Big Bang affected the lives and destinies of thousands through the shockwaves it generated.
Viola was seven years old when the Black Wall Street, the Greenwood district of Tulsa she lived in, blew up as angry white terrorists attacked. The numbers are argued over, but it seems mobs killed an estimated 300 people and looted and torched more than 1400 homes and businesses. Nearly 10,000 people were left homeless. Airplanes were even used to track people down, with reports of turpentine bombs being dropped.
A particularly gruesome memory pours out during the riot. Viola sees a man, spouting out his allegiance to the KKK… “He held up his shotgun, pointed it, and blew a poor Black man’s head clean o!, right in front of us.” What does seeing that do to a child?
Damage was not just to homes and businesses, but to the psyche of the victims. Promising futures were marred with paranoia and PTSD. These burning after-effects altered the life paths of the victims. This is really what the book is about. You can now fact-check the event on Wikipedia, you can read about the mass grave sites being investigated, but until you read the first-hand account of what people went through it is just another historical entry.
Viola has appeared before Congress to tell her story and is currently in court seeking reparations under Oklahoma’s public nuisance law. The slow grinding wheels of justice? 102 years and counting…
Thank you to Lauren Klouda, Independent Publishers Group, Mocha Media Publishing, and Edelweiss for providing an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.
January 26, 2024
3.75 It was hard to rate this one. The telling of this harrowing and devastating story is 5 stars. The structure, lack of depth and spelling errors (editing) was 3.75.
This book will have you running (your fingers running) to watch every Viola Ford Fletcher interview. What an incredibly phenomenal woman!
It’s definitely a must read. It’s a short little important gem.
This book will have you running (your fingers running) to watch every Viola Ford Fletcher interview. What an incredibly phenomenal woman!
It’s definitely a must read. It’s a short little important gem.
May 28, 2024
In Don’t Let Them Bury My Story, Viola Ford Fletcher (aka Mother Fletcher) tells of her memories of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. She is the oldest living survivor, having turned 110 recently, as of this writing. Her book covers what she saw in Tulsa, how it still affects her to this day, and her life post-1921.
One part of this book that surprised me was when she wrote about the negative impact that the massacre personally had on her. I’d heard about the many lives lost and the damaged property but I rarely thought about the trauma and PTSD that survivors must have experienced after the tragedy. Mother Fletcher reveals in her book how the massacre has forever altered her sleep quality, so much so that she doesn’t sleep well and she doesn't sleep in a bed but in a chair. She also lost a chance at getting her education, she was only able to complete fourth grade.
It’s a short book just over 100 pages, some may find it too short, especially since it's about the life of a centenarian. I believe it was published to get her story on record before she passes away, to add to the existing literature on the Tulsa massacre. The book has a few editing issues that I believe the publisher should have caught before going to press, but this should not take away from the story that is told.
Overall, this book is a powerful account of what happened to Mother Fletcher and the Greenwood community in Tulsa. It should definitely be read by all. Hopefully, it educates those about this horrifying time in American history, while at the same time encouraging readers to fight for justice for the vulnerable.
One part of this book that surprised me was when she wrote about the negative impact that the massacre personally had on her. I’d heard about the many lives lost and the damaged property but I rarely thought about the trauma and PTSD that survivors must have experienced after the tragedy. Mother Fletcher reveals in her book how the massacre has forever altered her sleep quality, so much so that she doesn’t sleep well and she doesn't sleep in a bed but in a chair. She also lost a chance at getting her education, she was only able to complete fourth grade.
It’s a short book just over 100 pages, some may find it too short, especially since it's about the life of a centenarian. I believe it was published to get her story on record before she passes away, to add to the existing literature on the Tulsa massacre. The book has a few editing issues that I believe the publisher should have caught before going to press, but this should not take away from the story that is told.
Overall, this book is a powerful account of what happened to Mother Fletcher and the Greenwood community in Tulsa. It should definitely be read by all. Hopefully, it educates those about this horrifying time in American history, while at the same time encouraging readers to fight for justice for the vulnerable.
July 29, 2023
After emancipation, the Greenwood community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, served as an example of what African Americans could build in a free world. So-called “Black Wall Street” epitomized a community built around entrepreneurship, social responsibility, freedom, and neighborly love. They embodied American ideals of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” as much as anyone else.
Until the jealous white mob got involved in 1921. One night, in response to false accusations against a black citizen, this white mob burned the Greenwood community to the ground and murdered hundreds (we don’t have a count) of black citizens. Those who remained had to flee and encounter a new life of poverty and Jim Crow racism. Viola Ford Fletcher, the oldest living survivor of this tragedy, tells her story here.
The recent Black Lives Matter movement brought a new spotlight on historic injustices done – and still being done – to the African-American community all over the United States. The Tulsa Massacre was one of those featured in this movement. In response, Fletcher and her family were invited to testify before Congress and provide her account of what happened that fateful day. She expands on that story here in her memoir.
Her account of the day in 1921 reminded me of accounts of the Rwandan genocides in the 1990s. Today, many white people think that such things only happen in “uncivilized Africa.” Fletcher reminds us that such inhumanity occurred even in 20th-century America, only by the white mob. Even sadder were the effects that day had on Fletcher’s entire life. Instead of a stable home in a healthy community, she had to live out of a tent with her family for years. Her education stopped in the fourth grade. For decades, she was oppressed by Jim Crow racism. Bosses swindled her, and she lived in poverty. Her dreams were mostly halted.
Nonetheless, like many black Americans who have been mistreated in history, she persevered and clung to American ideals of liberty and equality. To drink a little of that fine, aged wine is why this book deserves to be read. Yes, it reminds us of the inhumanity people do to people. Yes, it tells of tragic suffering. But it also speaks of a noble character – Fletcher herself – whose determination can inspire us all, of any skin color. Though her court case ultimately failed, I’m glad she received some taste of a good life and recognition before she dies. May her tribe increase and those swept under by history receive their just rewards, too.
Until the jealous white mob got involved in 1921. One night, in response to false accusations against a black citizen, this white mob burned the Greenwood community to the ground and murdered hundreds (we don’t have a count) of black citizens. Those who remained had to flee and encounter a new life of poverty and Jim Crow racism. Viola Ford Fletcher, the oldest living survivor of this tragedy, tells her story here.
The recent Black Lives Matter movement brought a new spotlight on historic injustices done – and still being done – to the African-American community all over the United States. The Tulsa Massacre was one of those featured in this movement. In response, Fletcher and her family were invited to testify before Congress and provide her account of what happened that fateful day. She expands on that story here in her memoir.
Her account of the day in 1921 reminded me of accounts of the Rwandan genocides in the 1990s. Today, many white people think that such things only happen in “uncivilized Africa.” Fletcher reminds us that such inhumanity occurred even in 20th-century America, only by the white mob. Even sadder were the effects that day had on Fletcher’s entire life. Instead of a stable home in a healthy community, she had to live out of a tent with her family for years. Her education stopped in the fourth grade. For decades, she was oppressed by Jim Crow racism. Bosses swindled her, and she lived in poverty. Her dreams were mostly halted.
Nonetheless, like many black Americans who have been mistreated in history, she persevered and clung to American ideals of liberty and equality. To drink a little of that fine, aged wine is why this book deserves to be read. Yes, it reminds us of the inhumanity people do to people. Yes, it tells of tragic suffering. But it also speaks of a noble character – Fletcher herself – whose determination can inspire us all, of any skin color. Though her court case ultimately failed, I’m glad she received some taste of a good life and recognition before she dies. May her tribe increase and those swept under by history receive their just rewards, too.
December 31, 2023
This book is difficult for me to rate, which is why I am writing a review, which I never do. The book tells a vitally important American story from the first-hand perspective of the oldest living survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre and because of that it should be required reading for all Americans. However, there are so many errors and typos and it is so poorly edited that I don’t feel able to assign it a 4-star rating. The key parts of the book - the massacre, its aftermath and its long-term effects on survivors and descendants are at times given short shrift while less important events such as a trip to Africa are told in great detail. However, I do think it worth anyone’s effort to read this book. I only wish the book had received the proper proofreading and editing that it deserved.
March 31, 2024
This was a short story but you have to remember this is a woman whose entire life was put on hold and then put onto another path due to mob violence. A lie and undeserved sense of entitlement blossomed, like mold, into a violent, murderous act of terrorism that lasted for days and hours. So many lost their lives, home, and livelihood during this time.
Viola and members of her family were able to make it through but not without added trials or tribulations. What they lived through had some terrible effects on them…effects that often lasted a lifetime.
I appreciate that Mother Fletcher was willing to share her life with us-even if it was during one of the worst periods a person would hope to never go through. The book lacked a bit of information, like some of the things I learned from Mary E. Parrish’s book, but I understand that this was just her opportunity to talk about what she personally witnessed and life before, during, and after the massacre.
It makes me sad that so many typos were left in the book as this was the first book she has put out about her life and I believe better care should have gone into proofreading before this went to print.
Overall, I do recommend this book as each person’s accounts will vary and it is also recommended to read other books to get a well-rounded accounting of what happened during that time.
Viola and members of her family were able to make it through but not without added trials or tribulations. What they lived through had some terrible effects on them…effects that often lasted a lifetime.
I appreciate that Mother Fletcher was willing to share her life with us-even if it was during one of the worst periods a person would hope to never go through. The book lacked a bit of information, like some of the things I learned from Mary E. Parrish’s book, but I understand that this was just her opportunity to talk about what she personally witnessed and life before, during, and after the massacre.
It makes me sad that so many typos were left in the book as this was the first book she has put out about her life and I believe better care should have gone into proofreading before this went to print.
Overall, I do recommend this book as each person’s accounts will vary and it is also recommended to read other books to get a well-rounded accounting of what happened during that time.
August 30, 2023
A quick but necessary read from the oldest survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, reminding us that this is not ancient history.
June 18, 2024
This book is more about Viola Ford Fletcher’s life than it is about the Tulsa Massacre specifically, though the two are obviously intertwined. The massacre occurred when Viola was seven, and the emotional scars have endured for her entire life. Her place as an eye witness to these events and her lifelong perseverance in the face of incredible suffering are five stars, but for me, this book is not. The poor editing does a disservice to this woman who survived so much, and the book is a bit disorganized. I wish this had gotten a little more love and care before it went to print, because it is important, and she’s one of the last few people on earth who saw it with their own eyes. There are some powerful parts, however, such as the last section in which she contemplates the many what-ifs of surviving that night.
I think the book I was hoping for would have contained more historical depth about the massacre, Black Wall Street, and other contextual events, so if that’s also what you’re looking for, just know that this is a starting place, but you’ll probably want to do additional reading.
I think the book I was hoping for would have contained more historical depth about the massacre, Black Wall Street, and other contextual events, so if that’s also what you’re looking for, just know that this is a starting place, but you’ll probably want to do additional reading.
December 16, 2025
Three and a half rounded up. This is the true story of a woman who survived the Tulsa Race Massacre when she was 8 years old. While I understand she only had a 4th grade education, the number of typos, random quotation marks, extra or missing commas, repeated facts (she mentioned at least 3 times that her daughter died of congestive heart failure), terrible flow, and more are inexcusable from her grandson and the publisher. This could be a five-star book with decent editing.
December 8, 2023
This book is so important and an amazing story. The story is a 5. The reason I rated this a 4 is the editing. There are many typos and grammatical errors. Mother Fletcher's story deserves better editing. That said I highly recommend this book.
January 13, 2024
This book is absolutely necessary reading. Upon finishing, I remember thinking that what Mother Fletcher, Uncle Redd, Mother Randle, and countless others went through was so heartbreaking and angering I wish the story was fictional. To be a centenarian you're not only blessed, but you've lived through and seen many things in life. Living through a massacre is unfathomable. Being a vibrant and well-spoken 109 year old and not seeing an ounce of justice is another level of cruelty. It's the least this nation could do.
As 101 yr old Uncle Redd (Mother Fletcher's brother) stated before Congress in 2021, "We aren't just black and white pictures on a screen; we are flesh and blood. I was there when it happened; I am still here." [He passed away in 2023] RIP.
The remaining survivors deserve so much more than the PTSD they live with due to what their young eyes witnessed on that fateful night on May 31, 1921. I admire them; their devotion to God, zest for life, love for all, and the way they "pushed through" life - all while under the thumb of racial oppression.
Currently, their fight continues as they seek much deserved & long overdue justice, before they catch their wings. It's a joy I pray they experience before it's too late. If it doesn't happen here - under the sun - certainly God will give them double for their trouble when they return "Home."
As 101 yr old Uncle Redd (Mother Fletcher's brother) stated before Congress in 2021, "We aren't just black and white pictures on a screen; we are flesh and blood. I was there when it happened; I am still here." [He passed away in 2023] RIP.
The remaining survivors deserve so much more than the PTSD they live with due to what their young eyes witnessed on that fateful night on May 31, 1921. I admire them; their devotion to God, zest for life, love for all, and the way they "pushed through" life - all while under the thumb of racial oppression.
Currently, their fight continues as they seek much deserved & long overdue justice, before they catch their wings. It's a joy I pray they experience before it's too late. If it doesn't happen here - under the sun - certainly God will give them double for their trouble when they return "Home."
November 25, 2024
This book was good and short. It didn't completely focus on the Tulsa Massacre. The author discusses her life in segments. Jobs she's had, experiences giving birth to kids, relationships, how she and her family survived after the massacre, and so on. It's more at the beginning of the book where the massacre's details are discussed. But then she was also a child at the time.
In the book, she mentions she had only received a 4th grade education and some of the writing seems to reflect that limited language. Towards the end of the book, she manages to realize a lifelong dream, to visit Africa. This is one of those places where the writing is more surface level and broad. Not sure if she dictated the story to her grandson and he wrote it or how it happened. But if you're interested in detailed black history, you won't get much from here.
In the book, she mentions she had only received a 4th grade education and some of the writing seems to reflect that limited language. Towards the end of the book, she manages to realize a lifelong dream, to visit Africa. This is one of those places where the writing is more surface level and broad. Not sure if she dictated the story to her grandson and he wrote it or how it happened. But if you're interested in detailed black history, you won't get much from here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 20, 2023
Ms. Fletcher's story, as one of only 3 known survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre, is vitally important. While her recollections of the actual massacre are encompassed in only six pages, Ms. Fletcher's memoir paints a vivid picture of the community that was destroyed and how losing everything negatively impacted her, her family, and the generations that have come after her. The now 109-year-old, shares how since the massacre that occurred when she was seven, she has not slept soundly or in a bed. Her PTSD kept her, for a century, from sleeping peacefully and often sleeping in a chair in the event she should have to flee into the night, again.
I took off half a star because there were a number of typos that an editor should have caught and it could have been organized better.
I took off half a star because there were a number of typos that an editor should have caught and it could have been organized better.
February 19, 2024
I rarely draft reviews, but I’m trying to do it more to provide context for my numerical ratings. I would give this book a 4.6 to be clear with it being rounded up to a 5. The story was very good and made me want to learn more about the lives of those who survived the Tulsa Massacre. I wish the book touched a little more on the author’s life, but I wouldn’t begrudge it for it is the author’s own story and what she wanted to share. Also, I concur with many other reviewers about the grammatical errors in the book. I blame the editors and the publisher for that as they have a duty to put out the best product for the author.
Overall, great story that I would highly recommend for a first-hand account of from a survivor of a historical tragedy.
Overall, great story that I would highly recommend for a first-hand account of from a survivor of a historical tragedy.
March 2, 2024
Wow, what a book! But also I am so f*cking angry!
1. I am angry that in 2023/2024 they are STILL fighting to have this massacre recognized legally in the courts...which is INSANE. It's been OVER 100 years!
2. As a white kid growing up in rural Ohio, this wasn't taught in school at all, AT ALL! I knew nothing about this other than in passing. It was mentioned then moved on.
America, we have to do better...
1. I am angry that in 2023/2024 they are STILL fighting to have this massacre recognized legally in the courts...which is INSANE. It's been OVER 100 years!
2. As a white kid growing up in rural Ohio, this wasn't taught in school at all, AT ALL! I knew nothing about this other than in passing. It was mentioned then moved on.
America, we have to do better...
April 7, 2024
This book was incredibly sad but necessary.
Viola Ford Fletcher is the oldest living survivor of the Tulsa Massacre and this book highlights the horror she experienced that night and how her life of hardship was a direct result of the grotesque injustice inflicted upon this community. My heart broke reading this, but it also encouraged me to keep pursing black excellence, in honor of those who passed before me. A MUST READ!
Viola Ford Fletcher is the oldest living survivor of the Tulsa Massacre and this book highlights the horror she experienced that night and how her life of hardship was a direct result of the grotesque injustice inflicted upon this community. My heart broke reading this, but it also encouraged me to keep pursing black excellence, in honor of those who passed before me. A MUST READ!
January 4, 2024
This was a nice short story told by a survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre. There are some typos and grammatical errors, but those make it feel more real since they are in her own words and not edited and cleaned up. The story does not go into much detail about the actual event as she was a small child at the time, so you will have to do a little research if you want to learn more. It was more about the impact of this event on her family and how they persevered…and how now on the 100th anniversary of the event she was fighting to finally see justice.
April 30, 2024
I learned a lot from this personal account. What a despicable act by the White people of Tulsa! Unfortunately, the case was dismissed with no reparations for the families (this was not in the book...I looked it up). Amazingly, the author will turn 110 in a few days!!!
The only downside I found was that the editing could have been better. It did not detract from the power of the story.
The only downside I found was that the editing could have been better. It did not detract from the power of the story.
September 17, 2023
I cannot overstate how important the memories and words of our ancestors are in continuously pushing this country toward realizing its promise of justice for all. Ms. Fletcher is a brave woman for sharing her story more than a century later.
December 9, 2023
I listened to a podcast a few years ago about the Tulsa Massacre and it was the first time I had heard of this. Reading Ms Fletcher's story and how she is still fighting for acknowledgment at 108 is just incredible. It was a quick read filled with memories of family, heartache, struggle, determination and hope.
January 22, 2024
An autobiography of a woman who as a child experienced the massacre in Greenwood section of Tulsa. The story goes right up to 2023 when but ended before the verdict cam in on whether any restitution to the survivors or thir offspring was going to happen. This author was 108 at the close of the book.
June 15, 2024
Gripping, Mother Fletcher’s Don’t Let Them Bury My Story participates in a larger history of Black American memoirs that detail lives shaped by and in defiance of trauma. I hope this book gains the audience of works like Stephenson’s Just Mercy and Athony Ray Hinton’s The Sun Still Shines.
December 4, 2025
This book needed a bit more editing and was a little uneven but Viola Ford Fletcher's story of surviving the Tulsa Race Massacre, is harrowing, vividly recounted, and an important eyewitness account of a horrific event that was suppressed for far too long.
December 18, 2025
Very easy read, almost kind of rushed to be honest. Editing is not the best so if you're a stickler remain focused the situation that's being talked about. America has so much generational hurt and pain. It's hard for me to imagine having to wake up my children and run away from everything I've worked for and earned.
January 3, 2024
Extremely powerful and moving account of the “Black Wall Street” massacre. Everyone should read this!!
October 13, 2025
This was SO good because it was something I'd heard of but knew nothing about. It's so sad. It makes you wonder what their lives and this country would be like if they'd have been allowed to stay and thrive.
January 26, 2024
This is a definite read
May 26, 2025
5 stars for the powerful story and the courage it took for this woman of strength to speak before Congress. The editor could have done a better job.
February 9, 2024
This one is a tough one ratings-wise because it was.... not great? If you're looking for a historical, biographical accounting of the Tulsa Massacre, this is only it... for a few pages. The more interesting parts -- both the prosperity of Black Wall Street and her family's unfortunately privileged escape (unfortunately because they had to have that privilege in order to get out when so many others did not, rather, this should never have happened in the first place!!) and also the effects of living through something so unspeakably traumatic had on the lives of her family, their early deaths from alcoholism or heart issues and the toll trauma can take on a body even so many years, and even generations, later. Besides that, it was more or less a normal woman living through the 1900s-early 2000s, trying to get by.
But a lot of the book also read like advertisements: for her lawyer, for the company that worked to get the book published (and then HAD it published.... rife with spelling and formatting errors..), to the movement that got her a trip to Africa where she had a lovely welcome by the people and government of Ghana, saying that "all Black people should go visit Africa" in a way that sort of rubbed me the wrong way, like 'what are you doing if you don't do this' oh I don't know, maybe not having the immense fortune to have a trip funded and given to her as so many are still living with the effects of redlining and so many other racially motivated rules?
My book club also discussed how this didn't feel like an oral history, or something written by someone 108 years old, and while the cover credits her grandson for helping.... mm... I don't know. I would love to hear her talk in her own words about her own story I'm sure more than I enjoyed this. I think really the editing and how it was put together was the real problem though.
But a lot of the book also read like advertisements: for her lawyer, for the company that worked to get the book published (and then HAD it published.... rife with spelling and formatting errors..), to the movement that got her a trip to Africa where she had a lovely welcome by the people and government of Ghana, saying that "all Black people should go visit Africa" in a way that sort of rubbed me the wrong way, like 'what are you doing if you don't do this' oh I don't know, maybe not having the immense fortune to have a trip funded and given to her as so many are still living with the effects of redlining and so many other racially motivated rules?
My book club also discussed how this didn't feel like an oral history, or something written by someone 108 years old, and while the cover credits her grandson for helping.... mm... I don't know. I would love to hear her talk in her own words about her own story I'm sure more than I enjoyed this. I think really the editing and how it was put together was the real problem though.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews