TULSA, Okla. — The Greenwood Cultural Center celebrated one of the inspirations behind its very existence Friday night.
Those attending said goodbye to one of the last survivors of the 1921 Race Massacre, Hughes "Uncle Red" Van Ellis, Sr., who died Oct. 9.
"To come back, see all the people, people who loved him and honored him and the work that he did, it is just touching," said Malee Craft, Van Ellis's eldest daughter.
"He has a wonderful story and so there's just a lot of rich history here," event guest Ina Thompson told 2 News.
While Van Ellis's 102 years was joyously celebrated - including with a letter sent from President Biden, he faced many injustices in life.
As an infant he survived one of the worst attacks on African-Americans in the nation's history on the very soil the Greenwood Cultural Center stands today.
"We aren't just black and white pictures on a screen. We are flesh and blood," Van Ellis testified to Congress in 2021.
He later earned a bronze star fighting for the nation in World War II, serving in a segregated unit and even dealt with struggles after that.
"My dad was not getting one penny from the VA. Not a dime," Craft said. "It took me 12 years to do paperwork, write over here, do this, do that for him to start getting a benefit."
Celebrations aside, there remains another fight Uncle Red took part in: a dismissed lawsuit against the City of Tulsa for its alleged role in 1921.
Attorneys for the remaining survivors filed a brief to be reviewed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
"The mission is the same. We've got to pursue justice," State Rep. Regina Goodwin (D-Tulsa) told 2 News. "So even though Mr. Ellis has passed away, waves of generations are coming behind him and we're going to keep on keeping on. We're going to keep fighting the good fight."
Craft said her father's commitment to his community, country and cause lives on in his family, especially on Veterans Day weekend.
"He went through a lot. But he still said, 'You know, I'm going to serve my country and do what I can,'" she said.
Live music, food, and dancing is planned for the birthday of Ms. Lessie Benningfield Randle aka "Mother Randle" Saturday, who turned 109 on Friday.
The celebration will be at the Ben Hill Community Center on Latimer Place from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m..
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