Mass Grave Found in 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Site Cemetery Dig

At least 10 badly decayed coffins have been found in pairs in a trench in the Oaklawn Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma—the site of the 1921 Race Massacre in which 18 Black men were mercilessly killed. Researchers had been looking for human remains tied to the racist attack and say that while the arrangement of the coffins constitutes a mass grave referred to in historical documents, they can not yet be sure that the coffins are linked to the event until they are exhumed and tested, which will require legal wrangling. State Archeologist Kary Stackelbeck, who is leading the research team, says the site will be carefully photographed and documented and covered back up to protect the remains from bad weather until the legal work is completed. “We have not done anything to expose the remains other than those that have been encountered through the process of the initial excavation,” Stackelbeck said Wednesday. “We are intentionally leaving these in place and not pursing the process of exposing them to the elements.”