Professor Eric Miller, co-director of the Loyola Anti-Racism Center and Leo J. O’Brien Fellow, has argued for more than two decades along with fellow law professors and LMU Loyola Law School (LLS) students for reparations on behalf of the victims and descendants of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921. Finally, someone listened.
Their advocacy resulted in the $105 million Greenwood Trust to take on the generational harm from the massacre, which the Justice Department said in 2025 included the murder of hundreds of Black people in Tulsa’s once-thriving Greenwood District. Among its priorities are $24 million for affordable housing and homeownership, and $60 million for surviving institutions, cultural landmarks, and place-based projects.
“The killing of so many and the destruction of Black Wall Street, which was one of the most prosperous places for Black people in the United States, was a horrific tragedy,” Miller said. “It has been a long road, and it was a very emotional day when the Greenwood Trust announcement was made.”
Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols IV made the surprise announcement during an event commemorating the Tulsa Race Massacre on June 1, 2025. which saw the day officially recognized as Tulsa Race Massacre Observance Day and included the bestowal on Miller of the Eddie Faye Gates Award for Social Justice.
Having worked with Harvard Professor Charles Ogletree Jr. as a research assistant, Miller returned to Harvard in 2001 on a fellowship and as a qualified attorney, and ended up collaborating with him – as well as LLS alum Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. ’62 – research into the possibility of reparations. This later involved the Tulsa Race Massacre.
“There have been so many twists when it came to seeking reparations for the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921,” Miller said. “It went from everything from thinking about statute of limitations to even finding if there were survivors alive who could sue. Though originally there were doubts, they were found, but not all were alive for the Greenwood Trust announcement.”
A major turning point on the way to the Greenwood Trust came from Miller’s testimony at congressional hearings in 2019 on H.R. 40. That is where Miller reconnected with Damario Solomon Simmons, a civil rights attorney who had participated in the original effort as a law clerk, and who now leads the legal team seeking reparations once again, with Miller taking a leading role in drafting the complaint and arguing the case up to the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
“The key, however, was Mayor Nichols coming into office in Tulsa,” Miller said. “He was open to possibilities and, when we presented him with a Greenwood Trust proposal, he was very positive and thought some of the suggestions could be done. Survivor Lessie Benningfield Randle, survivor Viola Ford Fletcher and Civil Rights Attorney Damario Solomon-Simmons, and so many others were so critical in the push that led to the Greenwood Trust.”
Miller credits law student help as significant in his own contribution. One student contributor, Magnolia Cabada ’25, performed research for Miller related to the Tulsa Race Massacre and was elated at the Greenwood Trust announcement. “There weren’t many precedents, and you felt pulled to help these people when it came to this injustice,” she said. “As a law student, it was very challenging to be a part of it. I was grateful to have the chance to learn from Professor Miller. Throughout the process, you just kept thinking of what victims had gone through. It was an important outcome, and I felt fortunate to have had any part in helping.”
Miller said he found himself and others vital to the Greenwood Trust project tearing up at the announcement. He thought back to the many legal arguments that were met with roadblocks along the way. “This is the culmination of many people being persistent and staying united,” Miller said. “There were so many times where you felt you were hitting a brick wall, but then you just had to find another way. The survivors have been through so much and showed tremendous courage.”