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Third body finding during the grave investigation in Tulsa in 1921

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Third body finding during the grave investigation in Tulsa in 1921

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During the years-long search for victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, third remains with gunshot wounds were exhumed.

On Friday, state officials in Tulsa, Oklahoma, announced that they had found remains with gunshot wounds at Oaklawn Cemetery. The discovery is the latest in the city’s 1921 Graves Investigation, the city of Tulsa said in a press release.

So far, all three bodies have been found in adult coffins and transferred to a local osteological laboratory.

The body was found near the Burial 3 or “Original 18” area, where 18 black men who were victims of the massacre are said to have been buried, the press release said.

This is the fourth excavation conducted by the City of Tulsa. Since then, 40 additional graves have been uncovered that had not been discovered before.

When were the two victims discovered?

The discovery came less than a month after Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum announced that the identity of the first exhumed body had ties to the massacre, according to another city press release.

Based on the DNA of his next of kin, the body was confirmed to be that of CL Daniel, a US Army veteran of World War I.

Daniel was the first person discovered who was not listed in the 2001 Oklahoma Commission report on the massacre.

What were the Tulsa massacres?

On May 31 and June 1, 1921, a white mob invaded Greenwood—Tulsa’s black neighborhood—and burned, looted and destroyed over 1,000 homes in the once-thriving business district known as Black Wall Street.

The massacre is considered one of the worst cases of racial violence in the country’s history. And 103 years after the massacre, Tulsa is making progress in revitalizing “Black Wall Street” and coming to terms with the destruction of one of the most thriving communities of its heyday.

The City of Tulsa has implemented a master plan that “ensures that the social and economic benefits of redevelopment will benefit Tulsa’s black residents, the descendants of the racial massacre, and future generations and their heirs.”

1921 Graves Inquiry

In 2018, the city launched an investigation to “identify and connect people today with those who went missing over 100 years ago,” the city’s website says.

Four locations were listed as possible areas where victims of the massacre could be located, the city explains:

  • Name of the cemetery
  • Newblock Park
  • An area near Newblock Park
  • Rolling Oaks Memorial Gardens, formerly known as Booker T. Washington Cemetery

Contributors: Alexia Aston

Julia is a trends reporter for USA TODAY. She has covered a variety of topics, from local business and government in her hometown of Miami to technology and pop culture. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or follow her on X, formerly Twitter, Instagram And Tick ​​​​Tock: @juliamariegz

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