In Oklahoma City, a third set of remains with a gunshot wound has been discovered at a Tulsa cemetery during the ongoing search for graves of victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, according to a state official.
This set of remains is among three recently exhumed during the latest excavation effort. The remains were discovered in an area believed to be the final resting place for 18 Black men killed during the massacre, Oklahoma State archaeologist Kary Stackelbeck announced on social media Friday.
“We have exhumed him, he is in the forensic lab and undergoing analysis,” Stackelbeck reported from the site at Tulsa’s Oaklawn Cemetery.
This discovery follows nearly a month after another set of remains, previously exhumed in the search, were identified as World War I veteran C.L. Daniel from Georgia. Forensic anthropologist Phoebe Stubblefield had earlier stated that Daniel’s remains did not show evidence of a gunshot wound, but the fragmented state of his remains made it impossible to determine the exact cause of death.
The three sets of remains exhumed in the current search are part of 40 graves discovered, according to Stackelbeck. These remains align with documented burial practices for massacre victims, corroborated by contemporary newspaper articles, death certificates, and funeral home records.
“Those three individuals are buried in adult-sized, wooden caskets, so they have been removed from the ground and taken to our forensic facility on site,” Stackelbeck added.
Previous searches have uncovered over 120 sets of remains, with approximately two dozen sent to Intermountain Forensic in Salt Lake City for further identification efforts.
On Thursday, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum and City Councilor Vanessa Hall-Harper announced the formation of a new committee tasked with exploring various forms of reparations for survivors and descendants of the massacre, as well as for the community of north Tulsa where the event occurred.
The massacre, a grievously underreported incident of racial violence, unfolded over two days in 1921. It obliterated a thriving Black community known as Black Wall Street, resulting in the deaths of as many as 300 Black residents, the internment of thousands in National Guard-supervised camps, and the razing of over 1,200 homes, businesses, schools, and churches.
