Efforts to unearth mass graves said to be hidden since the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre will move forward Monday as the investigation's public oversight committee holds a virtual meeting.
Residents are invited to watch and listen in as experts give the latest update from the test excavation at Oaklawn Cemetery, which was halted in late July, and provide an analysis of the artifacts uncovered there, like a bullet and pair of shoes.
The findings then were promising, but more digging revealed bedrock, and an analysis of core samples taken east of the excavation site led researchers to conclude it was time to move on, according to previous Tulsa World reporting.
“Unfortunately, things did not transpire the way that we hoped they would,” state archaeologist Kary Stackelbeck said then. “We are able to confirm this is not the location we are looking for.”
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Stackelbeck and Mayor G.T. Bynum indicated the search would resume in the fall, and physical investigation committee members are slated to discuss the prioritization of other investigation sites on Monday.
Multiple sites of interest remain, according to a city news release, including the potter's field area of Oaklawn Cemetery based on oral history from the late Clyde Eddy.
Eddy told investigators in the late 1990s that as a boy in 1921 he had seen bodies in what appeared to be packing crates along the cemetery’s 11th Street boundary.
The ground penetrating radar that initially indicated an anomaly at Oaklawn Cemetery in October 2019 also indicated two anomalies east of Newblock Park in an area called "The Canes," the release states.
The site is a candidate for future test excavation efforts, as is Rolling Oaks Memorial Gardens, formerly known as Booker T. Washington Cemetery.
The property is privately owned, but multiple accounts from Race Massacre survivors and their descendants point to the area.
The cemetery's owners were willing to allow a search under certain conditions, and after a brief disagreement birthed strong language from Bynum in December, the city reports a signed contract is in place with them to schedule ground penetrating radar.
Despite the setbacks, committee members and city leaders remain hopeful there is truth to uncover.
Brenda Alford, chairwoman of the citizens’ committee overseeing the investigation, said after the test excavation at Oaklawn Cemetery that she knew when the process began that it would be long term.
“I want you to understand,” she said then, “we are just beginning. We are not finished.”
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Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum: "I think if there are mass graves there, the citizens of Tulsa deserve to know, and the victims and their families deserve to know it.”
Tulsa Race Massacre: Frequently asked questions answered
Tulsa Race Massacre: Frequently asked questions answered
How many people were killed during the massacre?
The number of people killed in the race massacre has been a mystery from the start. Read more.
Did a newspaper article at the time lead to the massacre?
This story, which first appeared in the bottom right of the May 31, 1921, Tulsa Tribune front page, has often been cited as the spark that led to the race massacre. Read more.
Was a machine gun used during the massacre by the National Guard?
The Tulsa Tribune, on June 1, citing “reports reaching police headquarters,” said “national guardsmen turned a deadly fire from two machine guns” on a group of African Americans, killing “half a hundred.” Read more.
Did airplanes drop bombs during the massacre?
Six airplanes circled the Greenwood area during the morning hours of June 1. Read more.
What happened to Sarah Page and Dick Rowland following the massacre?
Little is known of the two people most associated with the massacre. It’s not even certain their names were Sarah Page and Dick Rowland. Read more.
Was anyone prosecuted for murder after the massacre?
Despite promises and threats, no one was prosecuted for the deaths resulting from the events of May 31-June 1, 1921. Read more.
Tulsa Race Massacre / The Tulsa World Library
See all of the coverage of the race massacre in this special report.
“I want you to understand, we are just beginning. We are not finished.”
Brenda Alford, committee chairwoman
