100 years after Tulsa Race Massacre, survivors and descendants continue to seek justice in court

Three centenarians appeared at a court hearing in Tulsa this week.

More than 100 years after the Tulsa Race Massacre, survivors and their descendants are still seeking justice in court for the atrocities committed against a once-thriving Black community.

In 1921, a mob of white vigilantes eviscerated Tulsa's Greenwood neighborhood, known at the time as "Black Wall Street" due to its affluence and successful business enterprises. The racist violence killed at least 300 people, wounded thousands and destroyed some 35 acres of commercial and residential property.

"This lawsuit seeks to get justice and repair for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and the 100 years of continuing harm," attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons, who is representing the plaintiffs, told ABC News. "What we say in a lawsuit, and what we believe we can prove, is that the massacre created what's called a public nuisance, and that nuisance has continued unabated, meaning has not been fixed, or repaired, since it was instituted."

Three living survivors of the horror -- Lessie Benningfield Randle, Viola Fletcher and Hughes Van Ellis -- appeared in a Tulsa courtroom on Tuesday as Solomon-Simmons argued for the case, seeking acknowledgment and accountability from the city and local government. The fate of the suit is now in the hands of District Judge Caroline Wall, who is set to rule on whether it can proceed.