Skip to content
CapRadio

CapRadio

listen live donate
listen live donate
listen live
donate
  • News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
    News
    • News

    • State Government
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • Race and Equity
    • Business
    • Arts and Lifestyle
    • Food and Sustainability
    • PolitiFact California
  • Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
    Music
    • Music

    • Classical
    • Jazz
    • Eclectic

    • Daily Playlist
  • Podcasts & Shows
  • Schedules
  • Events
  • Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
    Support
    • Support
    • Ways to support
    • Evergreen Donation
    • One-Time Donation
    • Corporate Sponsorship
    • Vehicle Donation
    • Stock Giving
    • Legacy Giving
    • Endowment Support
    • Members
    • Member Benefits
    • Member FAQ
    • Member Newsletter

    • Fund drives
    • Drawing Winners
    • Thank You Gifts
  • About
  • Close Menu
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 
 We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter 

Scientists Discover Unmarked Coffins During Search For 1921 Tulsa Massacre Victims

By Brakkton Booker | NPR
Friday, October 23, 2020

Workers reinforce the sides of an excavation site during the search for a potential unmarked mass grave from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, at Oaklawn Cemetery in Tulsa, Okla., in July.

Sue Ogrocki / AP

Researchers in Tulsa, Okla., have concluded their latest round of test excavations in the search for remains of Black victims killed during a race massacre nearly a century ago.

Tulsa officials said at least 11 coffins were discovered over four days of digging in specific areas of the city-owned Oaklawn Cemetery. It is one of the locations historians and researchers believe mass graves exist stemming from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.

The newly discovered coffins are in addition to one that was previously thought to be in the section of the cemetery known as the Original 18 site, bringing the total discovered to 12. The dig got underway on Monday.

While officials are hopeful these findings will provide clues, they also caution that more research and tests must be done to determine if they are conclusively associated with the tragic event.

Closer to getting answers

Historians say that 99 years ago, white mobs targeted an area of Tulsa known as the Greenwood District, killing between 150 and 300 Black residents, while looting and burning businesses, homes and churches to the ground.

Many of the victims from the area, also called Black Wall Street, are thought to have been buried in mass graves, but there are few recordds that exist from the massacre or the burials.

"This is just an incredible, incredible moment. We still have many questions to answer," Kary Stackelbeck, State Archaeologist of Oklahoma and a member of the excavation team said at a press conference Thursday.

She added there are indicators that more remains may be present.

"We are definitely a step closer to getting answers," she said.

Text Excavations Done Until 2021

Those answers will have to wait until at least next year though.

Crews worked to document and photograph what had already been unearthed, including caskets, nails, and human remains including bone, teeth and skull fragments.

None of the remains recovered had headstones, Tulsa World reports, which adds that researchers were looking for as many as 18 Black men.

Researchers said they preserved the burial site by filling a portion of it with sand and laying plywood over the immediate area, before refilling it with dirt.

"We just have to wait a little while longer to get the rest of the circumstances together, because these remains can't be examined in place in the time frame we have," said Phoebe Stubblefield, a forensic anthropologist, also working on the project.

She said the focus now turns to compiling the necessary documents to submit to a court for exhumation approval.

"So we want to appeal to a judge that we have grounds for disturbing these unmarked individuals," Stubblefield said.

Scott Ellsworth, a historian with the project, said he was "optimistic" after the discoveries this week. He also said it is an important moment for not just Tulsa, but for the country.

"This is the only time any level of American government, municipal state or county has ever gone out to search the hidden remains of victims of racial violence in American history," Ellsworth said.

'Who's in it and how did they get there?'

Officials expect to resume the search in 2021 when weather conditions permit, according to a statement from the city. It also said preservation of the remains was "less than ideal" and added that experts did not expose the remains for a full excavation and analysis.

Mayor G.T. Bynum thanked the residents of Tulsa who he said "reversed nearly a century of conventional wisdom of this being something we don't want to talk about," speaking of the decades-old massacre.

"This generation of Tulsans is not doing that," he added. "As we are at this stage where we are far enough through this investigation that we have now found a mass grave, now the question is who's in it and how did they get there?"

There were high hopes in July when the initial test excavation got underway in the Sexton area of Oaklawn Cemetery.

But after more than a week of searching, the city announced it found "no evidence of human remains" in the excavated area, according to a statement.

That search got underway after scientists previously reported they found "anomalies" in the cemetery that could indicate the existence of an unmarked burial ground.

The 1921 Massacre, which took place between May 31 and June 1, was most likely triggered after an incident in an elevator involving a Black man and a white woman, according to a 2001 report.

The commission that studied the events determined that Dick Rowland likely accidentally stepped on the foot of Sarah Page, who screamed.

Rowland fled, according the report, but was later caught, accused of sexual assault and jailed.

White mobs later gathered outside the Tulsa County Courthouse demanding Rowland be released to them, the report states. The massacre started soon afterward.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

View this story on npr.org
Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

Sign up for ReCap and never miss the top stories

Delivered to your inbox every Friday.

 

Check out a sample ReCap newsletter.

Thanks for subscribing!

Thank you for signing up for the ReCap newsletter! We'll send you an email each Friday with the top stories from CapRadio.

Browse all newsletters

Most Viewed

10 new California laws that go into effect in 2023

California coronavirus updates: Pyongyang under lockdown for respiratory disease

Behind The I-80 Castle: A Drag-Racing, Beauty School Mogul’s Dream House

Cal State contends with 'unprecedented' enrollment declines

Republican plan would outlaw homeless camps near California schools or parks

We Get Support From:
Become a Supporter

Back to Top

  • CapRadio

    7055 Folsom Boulevard
    Sacramento, CA 95826-2625

    •  
      (916) 278-8900
    •  
      (877) 480-5900
    •  Contact / Feedback
    •  Submit a News Tip
  • About

    • Mission / Vision / Core Values
    • Stations & Coverage Map
    • Careers & Internships
    • Staff Directory
    • Board of Directors
    • Press
  • Listening Options

    • Mobile Apps
    • Smart Speakers
    • Podcasts & Shows
    • On-Air Schedules
    • Daily Playlist
    • Signal Status
  • Connect

    •  Facebook
    •  Twitter
    •  Instagram
    •  YouTube
  • Donate

  • Listen Live

  • Newsletters

CapRadio stations are licensed to California State University, Sacramento. © 2023, Capital Public Radio. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy | Website Feedback FCC Public Files: KXJZ KKTO KUOP KQNC KXPR KXSR KXJS. For assistance accessing our public files, please call 916-278-8900 or email us.