Search For Possible Mass Graves From 1921 Massacre To Resume

Archeologists will continue their search for possible mass graves from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre on Monday July 13.

The test excavation was originally scheduled in March and was pushed back due to COVID-19.

Related Story: City Of Tulsa Resumes 1921 Mass Graves Test Excavation

The City said Oaklawn Cemetery will be closed to the public for 3-6 days. They said, everyone at the site, including researchers, will have to test negative for COVID-19 first. 

The City of Tulsa said, "In early March, the City of Tulsa with the Public Oversight Committee, agreed to move forward with a test excavation in the sexton area in Oaklawn Cemetery, where the initial geophysical investigation identified a large anomaly consistent with a mass grave....The test excavation is part of a feasibility study to determine the presence or absence of human remains, determine the nature of the interments, and obtain data to help inform the future steps in the investigation, including appropriate recovery efforts."

According to the news release, each day at noon, researchers will brief the media, and that update will also be live streamed on the City of Tulsa's Facebook Page. Researchers will provide another update on Facebook at the end of each workday. The city says a tribal monitor and a monitor from the Public Oversight Committee will be at the site with researchers. They will also have someone from the investigation's Historical Context Committee helping to document the process.

Read full statement here on the City Of Tulsa's website.