By Kevin Canfield
Mayor G.T. Bynum said Tuesday that the city will examine two Tulsa cemeteries and a third site to determine whether they include mass graves from the 1921 Tulsa race massacre.
The city will begin with Oaklawn Cemetery before moving on to Rolling Oaks Memorial Gardens, formerly Booker T. Washington Cemetery, and property near Newblock Park.
“What we are looking at doing is really three phases,” Bynum said. “First, identifying if there are mass graves at all. And if there are, identifying what kind of mass grave it is. Is it a pauper’s grave, or is it a true mass grave from the massacre? And third, if it is a mass grave from the massacre, then we want to do forensic examination on the bodies that are there to hopefully identify them and their causes of death.
“I think all of that will help inform a greater understanding around what happened in 1921.”
Bynum said he and former City Councilor Jack Henderson began exploring the issue about six years ago with the help of former state archaeologist Bob Brooks.
Since taking office, Bynum said, the city has been exploring the best possible methods to conduct the search. He said the city expects to work with either Oklahoma Archaeological Survey or Arkansas Archaeological Survey to conduct the search.
Bynum made the city’s plan public during a town hall meeting Tuesday.
The massacre, which was more commonly known as the Tulsa race riot for generations, occurred May 31-June 1, 1921. There were dozens of confirmed deaths and some estimate hundreds were killed. Hundreds more were injured and thousands were left homeless. The prosperous black business district on Greenwood Avenue was destroyed, as was much of the black residential area.
Although one of the deadliest and most destructive riots in U.S. history, it was discussed very little until the 1980s, when Scott Ellsworth’s book “Death in a Promised Land,” was published. A state commission formed in 1997 subsequently published a 2001 report on the conflagration.
