TU Opens Race Massacre Archives To The Public Ahead Of Centennial

Marc Carlson has been working for more than 3 decades to learn more about the Tulsa Race Massacre. As TU's head of special collections and University archives, he's been collecting photographs, newspaper articles, even maps from 1921.

"There are a lot of people who didn't talk about this,” said Carlson.

While his collection is always available to view, Wednesday was the first time the public could view it in an open house setting.

The viewing comes as the city of Tulsa ramps up efforts to learn more about its dark past, as we approach the 100 year anniversary of the massacre.

This month, the city will start searching for mass graves.

Carlson says their goal, is to contribute to the community's discussion on the topic and also identify people.

"We want to identify these people,” said Carlson. “The living, the dead and in a couple of cases we've been able to do that."

So that's why he's displaying photographs, some graphic and some rarely seen.

It's a history he wants all people to understand.

"There is a lot of history in this,” said Carlson. “These are pictures of real people, real events, not just some sort of mythical history out of the past."

The open house continues Thursday at McFarlin Hall at TU from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m.