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HomeVideoWATCH: Tulsa massacre survivor and WWII veteran remembers climate of discrimination

WATCH: Tulsa massacre survivor and WWII veteran remembers climate of discrimination

Hughes Van Ellis, one of last living survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, described to House lawmakers the environment of racial discrimination taking place in the country at the time of the attack.

“We were shown that in the United States, not all men were created equal under the law,” he testified during a hearing on Wednesday held by a House Judiciary subcommittee.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the day that a thriving Black community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, suffered a brutal massacre — up to 300 Black Tulsans were murdered by white residents.

Van Ellis, who is a World War II veteran, told lawmakers that even after he returned from war, he still faced discrimination and was not eligible for benefits under the 1944 G.I. bill meant to assist veterans. “I came home to segregation, a separate and unequal America.”

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