Victims may not be buried in section of cemetery

Tulsa-AP) -- Tulsa city records indicate that the burial of a man in a section of Oaklawn Cemetery may mean victims of the Tulsa race riot weren't placed in the area. The Tulsa Race Riot Commission

Friday, January 14th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Tulsa-AP) -- Tulsa city records indicate that the burial of a man in a section of Oaklawn Cemetery may mean victims of the Tulsa race riot weren't placed in the area. The Tulsa Race Riot Commission has identified the most likely location for one of the pits in which witnesses say unidentified victims were hastily buried after the violent outbreak in 1921.

Little is known about the man named Ed Baker, whom records say was buried in Section 19, Row 14, Plot 38 of the cemetery between May 21st and May 24th, 1921. If that location is correct, Baker is in the middle of the 15-square-foot patch where riot victims are thought to be buried.

Officials want to excavate the area to confirm if there are riot survivors in the cemetery. But before that can happen, the victims' survivors must give permission or a court order must be obtained. Section 19 of the cemetery was a burial ground for the poor and indigent. Many of the grave sites lack markers. Some of the markers that do exist are illegible.