Ep. 13: Where Are The Bodies Buried?

A significant number of African American residents of Tulsa’s predominantly black Greenwood District disappeared during and after the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Some researchers and experts believe there could be hundreds of the missing residents. These were people who not only had never been heard from again but whose bodies could not be located after the Massacre. Many loved ones presumed missing black Tulsans had been killed during the attack on Greenwood.  Though they never had a chance to lay the missing to rest. For decades, experts have tried to solve the mystery of the missing bodies.  The answer could be in survivor accounts and family lore - that for nearly 100 years - told of large numbers of bodies being buried or dumped in mass graves in and around Tulsa following the Massacre. On the other hand, some witnesses reported seeing black corpses hauled to the banks of and dumped in the Arkansas River. Experts who were hired to unearth evidence of - if not the graves themselves more than 20 years ago - encountered road blocks that made their efforts unsuccessful. However, the current mayor of Tulsa, Mayor G.T. Bynum, has launched renewed efforts to discover possible mass graves stemming from the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.



Guests in this episode include Kavin Ross of the Greenwood Tribune, who is also the son of former Oklahoma State Representative Don Ross; Dr. Scott Ellsworth who is a writer, historian and University of Michigan Afroamerican and African Studies professor; and Dr. Alicia Odewale who is a University of Tulsa Anthropology associate professor.

Listeners will also hear from Representative Ross as well as Tulsa Race Massacre survivor and long-time educator William Danforth Williams, also known as W.D. Williams.  

Musical Attributions

1. Glueworm Evening Blues (ID 994) by Lobo Loco License, disclaimer and copyrite information. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/legalcode Linked to music: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lobo_Loco/Welcome/Glueworm_Blues_ID_994 

2. Title: Driving to the Delta (ID 923) by Lobo Loco License, disclaimer and copywite information: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lobo_Loco/Welcome/Driving_to_the_Delta_ID_923_1563 Link to music: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lobo_Loco/Welcome/Driving_to_the_Delta_ID_923_1563 

3. Spirit Inside (ID 819) by Lobo Loco License, disclaimer and copyright information: Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/0) Link to music: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lobo_Loco/Tree_of_Meditation/Spirit_Inside_ID_819 

4. African Moon by John Bartmann Link to license, disclaimer and copyright information: CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ Link to Music: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/John_Bartmann/Public_Domain_Soundtrack_Music_Album_One/african-moon