Oldest living survivor of Tulsa Race Massacre dies at 111 years old

109-year-old Viola Ford Fletcher, otherwise known as "Mother Fletcher," sits with CNN for an interview. She was one of two living survivors of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Gregg Canes/CNN

Viola Ford Fletcher, the oldest living survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre, died at 111 years old Monday, her grandson Ike Howard confirmed.

“She had a beautiful smile on her face,” Howard told CNN. “She loved life, she loved people.”

Fletcher sat with CNN multiple times for interviews in recent years as she and other living survivors pursued a lawsuit against the city of Tulsa and other related departments, alleging they were complicit in the 1921 massacre and that its effects were still being felt today.

The events leading up to the massacre began on May 30, 1921, when Dick Rowland, a 19-year-old Blac