Mother Lessie Benningfield Randle Comes to Chicago

Mother Lessie Benningfield Randle, the last known living survivor of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, will make a historic visit to Chicago and Cicero, Illinois, October 9–11, 2026. The visit is sponsored by Larry Love University, where Mother Randle has been honored as its oldest living alumni member.

On October 9, Mother Randle is scheduled to take part in a special conference engagement at the newly opened Barack Obama Presidential Center on Chicago’s South Side. On October 11, she will attend a ceremony in Cicero, where she will receive the Mighty Men & Women of God Humanitarian Award alongside other featured guests. Additional details about her role in the Chicago conference have not yet been publicly announced.

Following the passing of fellow survivor Viola Ford Fletcher in November 2025 at age 111, Mother Randle is the last known living survivor of the massacre. Her Chicago-area visit brings a living witness to the destruction of Greenwood to a new civic space dedicated to history, public engagement, and democracy.