Oct 26, 2022 - Politics & Policy

Exhumations to resume in attempt to identify victims of Tulsa Race Massacre

Erin Doherty

: People partake in a candlelight vigil in the Greenwood district during commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre on May 31, 2021 in Tulsa, Oklahoma — People participate in a candlelight vigil in the Greenwood district on the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre on May 31, 2021 in Tulsa, Ok. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Some of the bodies that were previously exhumed from a Tulsa cemetery in an attempt to identity victims of the Tulsa Race Massacre will be dug up again beginning on Wednesday, AP reports.

Driving the news: "There were 14 of the 19 that fit the criteria for further DNA analysis," city spokesperson Michelle Brooks said, per AP. "These are the ones that will be re-exhumed."

The exhumations will be followed by another excavation for additional evidence, AP notes.
The remains were sent to Intermountain Forensics in Salt Lake City, Utah for analysis, per AP.

Flashback: On May 31, 1921, a white mob descended on Greenwood, known at the time as the "Black Wall Street," following unsubstantiated rumors that a Black teen assaulted a white woman, Axios' Russell Contreras and Dion Rabouin report.

The white mob burned 35 blocks and destroyed businesses, churches, homes, a library, a school and a hospital. Members of the mob randomly shot and killed innocent Black residents.

Go deeper... "This was not a riot": Biden commemorates anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre

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Exhumations to resume in attempt to identify victims of Tulsa Race Massacre

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