A Tulsa, Oklahoma judge ruled Monday that a lawsuit brought by three survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre may proceed but dismissed part of the plaintiffs’ “public nuisance” claim. The lawsuit will allow for the survivors to seek reparations for the harm caused from the massacre.

Lessie Benningfield Randle, 107, Viola Fletcher, 107, and Hughes Van Ellis, 101, filed the lawsuit against the City of Tulsa, Tulsa County, Tulsa Regional Chamber and others for the 1921 Tulsa Massacre. The defendants moved to dismiss the lawsuit, but the judge only granted part of the motion.

Damario Solomon-Simmons, a lawyer for the survivors, said “History was made today,” after receiving the judge’s ruling. He continued by saying “The only thing we know is that she allowed a part of our case to move forward to discovery and trial, [but] we do not know the specifics.”

Solomon-Simmons said in order to prove the “public nuisance” claim, he would have to demonstrate that harm continued after the nuisance occurred.

The attorney for the defendants argued that the acts occurred too long ago to be considered a public nuisance and that the court is unable to provide a remedy. John Tucker, the lawyer for Tulsa’s chamber of commerce stated that the nuisance was not ongoing. Tucker continued by saying “What happened in 1921 was a really bad deal, and those people did not get a fair shake, but that was 100 years ago.” 

Judge Caroline Wall will eventually release a written brief that will provide the details of the ruling.