The mayor of Tulsa says he plans to re-examine whether mass graves hold remains of those killed in one of the nation's worst race massacres nearly 100 years ago.
Mayor G.T. Bynum said via Facebook on Tuesday that he started doing research on the potential for mass graves in 2012 as a city councilman.
Estimates of those slain in the 1921 Tulsa race massacre range from three dozen to 300.
Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum (pictured) says he plans to re-examine whether mass graves hold remains of those killed in one of the nation's worst race massacres nearly 100 years ago
Estimates of those slain in the 1921 Tulsa race massacre range from three dozen to 300. Black smoke billows from fires during the riot
As the 100th anniversary approaches, community leaders have pushed for justice for the dead. The Tulsa Race Riot was an attack on the affluent African-American Greenwood District neighborhood (pictured)
As the 100th anniversary approaches, community leaders have pushed for justice for the dead.
He said a man who was a child in 1921 told a state commission studying the massacre that he remembered seeing bodies dumped in a cemetery.
'Councilor [Jack] Henderson and I turned our findings over to the City Administration, but nothing ever came of it,' Bynum wrote on Facebook.
I promised myself that if I ever became mayor and had the authority to direct further examination I would,' he added.
There are three main potential sites that will be investigated. The first is Newblock Park.
According to Bynum, crews doing testing on the ground at Newblock Park 'encountered difficulty because of piping and underground infrastructure throughout the park'.
There are three main potential sites that will be investigated. The first is Newblock Park (pictured). According to Bynum, 'crews doing testing on the ground there encountered difficulty because of piping and underground infrastructure throughout the park'
The second is Booker T. Washington Cemetery (pictured), 'where previously marked graves were found in a disturbed state by researchers in the late 1990s'
Lastly, the Oaklawn Cemetery (pictured) will be investigated. On one side of the cemetery, there is a grassy field with no marked graves, but an 'abnormality was detected underground in that area that would be consistent with a mass grave'
The second is Booker T. Washington Cemetery, 'where previously marked graves were found in a disturbed state by researchers in the late 1990s,' Bynum said in his Facebook post.
Lastly, the Oaklawn Cemetery will be investigated. On one side of the cemetery, there is a grassy field with no marked graves, according to Bynum.
'Yet an abnormality was detected underground in that area that would be consistent with a mass grave,' Bynum said.
But researchers have said that the abnormality could be a 'pauper's grave,' a grave paid for at public expense because the deceased person's family could not afford one.
Bynum said in the next few weeks he will work to solidify the plan and timelines.
THE 1921 TULSA RACE RIOT: AN ATTACK ON GREENWOOD
After World War I, Tulsa was recognized for its affluent African-American community known as the Greenwood District.
The community was often referred to as the 'Black Wall Street' because of its thriving businesses and residential area.
But in June 1921, the community was nearly destroyed during the Tulsa Race Riot.
The events leading up to the riot began on May 30, 1921, when a young black man named Dick Rowland was riding in the elevator with a woman named Sarah Page.
The details of what followed vary from person to person and it's unclear what actually happened.
During the Tulsa Riot, 35 city blocks were completely destroyed and more than 800 people were treated for injuries. Historians believe as many as 300 people may have died in the riot
Rowland was arrested the next day by Tulsa police.
Subsequently, a report in the Tulsa Tribune dated May 31, 1921, started a confrontation between black and white armed men at the courthouse.
Shots were fired and the African-Americans retreated to the Greenwood District.
In the early morning hours of June 1, 1921, Greenwood was looted and burned by white rioters.
Governor Robertson declared martial law, and National Guard troops were called in to Tulsa.
During the riot, 35 city blocks were completely destroyed and more than 800 people were treated for injuries.
Historians believe as many as 300 people may have died in the riot.
In 2001, the Race Riot Commission was organized to review the details of the deadly riot.
He said he plans to speak with archaeological experts to come up with minimally invasive ways to look for mass graves in the three spots
If there are unmarked graves, the investigative team will then determine their nature to see if the bodies are consistent with the violence from the massacre or if they appear to be the remains of people who died from natural causes.
Bynum said that if there are bodies that appear to be 1921 Race Massacre victims, his team will do whatever forensic examination is possible to determine their identities and causes of death.
'We do not begin this process with a certain outcome. We may not find any mass graves. Or we may. Tulsans are compassionate and supportive toward victims of violent crime - and that standard should apply whether they are victims in 2018 or 1921,' Bynum wrote.
'All Tulsans deserve to know what happened in 1921 - especially the descendants of victims.
'This is a matter of basic human decency,' he added.
hienalouca.com
https://hienalouca.com/2018/10/03/tulsa-mayor-calls-for-probe-into-possible-mass-graves-from-1921-race-riot/
Main photo article The mayor of Tulsa says he plans to re-examine whether mass graves hold remains of those killed in one of the nation’s worst race massacres nearly 100 years ago.
Mayor G.T. Bynum said via Facebook on Tuesday that he started doing research on the potential for mass graves in 2012 as a city...
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Dianne Reeves Online news HienaLouca
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