Last Survivor Of Tulsa Race Massacre Dies In Greenburgh

GREENBURGH, NY — The last survivor of the Tulsa, Oklahoma, race massacre died. Olivia Hooker died at her home in Greenburgh at the age of 103 Wednesday, Nov. 21.

Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner said the town board had previously honored Hooker with a ceremonial street naming.

"Olivia was loved in Greenburgh, and contributed to our community," he said. "She always had time for everyone — whether it was the president of the United State or children interviewing her for a project about her life."

Feiner said she was very nice and modest, and frequently called about town-related issues that concerned her.

"She will be missed," he said.

Hooker was a psychologist, a professor and the first African-American woman to join the U.S. Coast Guard, newson6.com said.

The 1921 attack on Greenwood, an African-American community in Tulsa, Oklahoma, destroyed what was a thriving business district and residential area, referred to as "Black Wall Street," according to the Tulsa Historical Society and Museum.

The massacre and destruction occurred after a young black man was arrested. Differing and inflammatory accounts of the incident between the young man and a woman named Sarah Page were circulated among the white community to the point that Greenwood was looted and burned by white rioters in the early morning hours of June 1, 1921.

Hooker, who was 6 at the time, helped investigate the massacre in 1997 by working on the Tulsa Race Riot Commission.

Xposure Greenburgh WXGB Radio students Interviewed Dr Olivia Hooker in 2016 for a school project. Watch the video above.

Hooker received top honors in the 2011 Westchester County Senior Hall of Fame.

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Photo credit: Dina Sciortino.