Archaeologists in Tulsa, Oklahoma searching for victims of the 1921 massacre said Wednesday they discovered more than 10 coffins in what they believed to be a mass grave.
The grave was found in Oaklawn Cemetery in Tulsa, and the New York Times reported that records and investigations indicated that up to 18 victims would be found. The process of digging the graves and finding out the people inside them is expected to be a slow and careful process in order to avoid deterioration.
According to Kary Stackelbeck, a state archaeologist, the remains will remain in place until they can be properly exhumed.
“We are very confident that this is one of the locations we have been looking for,” Stackelbeck told the Times. “But we have to be careful because we haven’t done anything to expose the human remains beyond those found.”
Investigators have not confirmed whether any of the remains belonged to anyone who died in the incident. Brenda Alford, a descendant of survivors of the racial massacre, told CNN that she was very pleased with the progress of the search.
“We are basically thinking of our loved ones, our parishioners, who lost their lives very, very tragically,” Alford, who also chairs the investigation’s public oversight committee, told CNN. “I am just very grateful for all the hard work that is required to find our truth and to restore a sense of justice and healing to our community.”
The Tulsa Race Massacre took place on May 31st and June 1st, 1921. Mobs of white residents, many of whom carried guns and were represented by local authorities, attacked black residents and black-owned businesses in Tulsa’s Greenwood District. The attack came both from the ground and from the air by private planes. At the time, Greenwood was known as the richest black community in the United States, known as Black Wall Street.
As a result, more than 800 people have been hospitalized and the Tulsa Reparations Coalition has confirmed 39 deaths, 26 black and 13 white, based on recent autopsy reports, death certificates and other records. Historians put the number of deaths much higher. Some believe up to 300 people died and more than 1,000 houses were burned down and destroyed. According to Wikipedia, the Memorial Day massacre began when Dick Rowland, a black shoe shiner, was accused of assaulting Sarah Page, a 17-year-old white girl. Rowland was taken into custody and a group of black men, some of whom were armed, appeared in jail to make sure Rowland was not lynched.
The local sheriff persuaded the group to leave, assuring them that Rowland would not be touched. As they were leaving, a group of white men showed up and one of them tried to take a gun from a member of the black group. A shot was fired during the fight which resulted in a gun battle between the two groups. Ten white and two black men died in the shooting that led to the massacre.
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