A Mass Grave Was Just Confirmed In Tulsa, OK From the 1921 Race Massacre.

Many people in the U.S. hadn’t heard of Tulsa, Oklahoma before the last five years, and if they did it was either associated with once being the oil capital of the country or that one Friends episode. Over the last 10 years, Tulsa has been booming with growth from being ranked #1 in best cities for young entrepreneurs to receiving one of the largest privately funded public parks in the country(a $465 million gift from billionaire George B. Kaiser).

What most people do not know is that Tulsa, Oklahoma is home to one of the worst acts of racial violence our country has ever seen. In May of 1921 in an area dubbed “Black Wall St.” for it’s booming economy and successful self-sustaining community, an encounter between a 19-year-old black male and a 17-year-old white female sparked what would be one of the ugliest two-day periods our country has ever seen. Over 35 square blocks and over 1,200 homes were burned and destroyed by a mob of white people deputized by local authorities. Historians believe that as many as 300 people may have been killed in the massacre and buried in mass graves, and it looks like Wednesday we are beginning to get the answer to those questions.

Earlier in 2020, Mayor G.T. Bynum approved city-funded excavations to determine if there any instances of mass graves throughout Tulsa.

Wednesday researchers led by Archaeologist Kary Stackelbeck believe they have uncovered a mass grave that contains at least 10 coffins at Oaklawn Cemetery. Human remains were pulled from the ground the day before.

This finding has the potential to provide a major boost to the newly filed lawsuit led by a 105-year-old survivor of the massacre demanding reparations for damages sustained.

All eyes will be on Tulsa and the continued discoveries these excavations bring and hopefully families will be able to receive some sense of long-awaited answers.