Randy Krehbiel
Tulsa World Staff Writer
The search for unmarked burials from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre concluded its latest phase on Friday as an archeology team filled in its recent excavations at Oaklawn Cemetery and began pondering its next steps.
The researchers found lots of unmarked graves during its four weeks in Section 20, known as the Black potter’s field, and exhumed seven sets of remains, but are far from knowing whether any are of race massacre victims.
“We have uncovered, delineated and mapped in 59 additional graves, all but two of which were previously unmarked,” State Archeologist Kary Stackelbeck said Friday. “From those we have exhumed six individuals, with a seventh being exhumed this afternoon.”
Those remains are being examined by forensic anthropologist Phoebe Stubblefield for clues to manner of death, physical characteristics and identity. DNA material is extracted when possible and sent to a lab for analysis and comparison to public databases.
People are also reading…
The remains are chosen for further study because of unusual burial or use of a plain coffin as described in accounts of 18 Black men buried in Oaklawn following the race massacre.
Fifty of the 59 graves uncovered during September were in an area identified around 2000 by the late Clyde Eddy, who said that as a boy in 1921 he’d seen Black bodies in crates being prepared for burial. Stubblefield said Friday that none of the graves uncovered at that site fit Eddy’s description, although some remains from that sector were exhumed.
The other graves were closer to what’s been called the Original 18 site near the cemetery’s southwest corner. Headstones for two of the 18 known victims are in this area, and extensive excavation work was done there previously.
Stackelbeck and Stubblefield said the search’s next steps will depend on evaluation of information from the just-completed phase, but Stubblefield said she would like to continue working in the Original 18 area. Potential sites within Oaklawn and elsewhere in the Tulsa area are also under consideration.
In the meantime, researchers continue to work matching DNA from previous exhumations with databases of living individuals. Stubblefield said she believes identification with two of the first remains exhumed may be close.
She encouraged people who believe their ancestors were buried in Oaklawn to come forward.
“If you’re buried in this cemetery, you’re part of Tulsa history,” Stubblefield said. “As often as I hear, ‘Oh, it’s a racist cemetery,’ but I recognize that any family members we can connect to the remains; I want them to have the ability to memorialize their family the way they want.
“But these are people who contributed to the establishment of this city. In one way or another, they had roles. And now they have a permanent historical presence.”
The new Tulsa World app offers personalized features. Download it today.
Users can customize the app so you see the stories most important to you. You can also sign up for personalized notifications so you don't miss any important news.
If you're on your phone, download it here now: Apple Store or Google Play
