Oaklawn Cemetery - The Search for the Missing

Oaklawn Cemetery - The Search for the Missing

Photo: G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0 (cropped)

A stop on Greenwood: Tulsa's Black Wall Street, a free self-guided tour.

This last stop is a mile south of Greenwood. Death certificates from 1921 list 26 Black victims of the massacre, and 21 of them were reportedly buried here at Oaklawn, many in unmarked graves.

For decades survivors spoke of hidden burials. In 2018 the city reopened the search, and excavations here began in 2020. By the fall of 2026 investigators had exhumed 55 people and recovered DNA from 22. Two victims have been named through genetic genealogy: C.L. Daniel, a World War I veteran identified in 2024, and George Melvin Gillispie, identified in 2025. The cemetery closes to the public during field seasons, so check the city's 1921 Graves Investigation page before you come.

The question of repair is still open. A survivors' lawsuit was dismissed in 2024, and the oldest survivor, Viola Fletcher, died in 2025 at 111. In 2025 Mayor Nichols launched the Greenwood Trust, aiming to raise $105 million for housing, land and culture rather than direct payments, and many descendants continue to call for more.

Getting here: Oaklawn is about a mile south of Greenwood on East 11th Street; drive, or allow about 25 minutes on foot.

Did you know?: C.L. Daniel, the first victim identified in the search, received the military honors due a veteran in November 2024, more than a century after his death.

Photo op: Out of respect, keep photos to the cemetery gate and grounds, not the excavation area or graves.

More on Wikipedia: Oaklawn Cemetery · Viola Fletcher · Monroe Nichols · Tulsa race massacre

Stops on this tour

  1. Greenwood Rising - Where Black Wall Street Began
  2. Deep Greenwood - Plaques Underfoot
  3. I-244 Overpass - The Second Destruction
  4. Vernon AME Church - The Basement That Survived
  5. Greenwood Cultural Center - Keeping the Memory
  6. Black Wall Street Memorial - Names That Remain
  7. Mount Zion Baptist Church - A Debt Paid in Full
  8. Reconciliation Park - Hostility, Humiliation, Hope
  9. Pathway to Hope - Stitching Greenwood Back Together
  10. Oaklawn Cemetery - The Search for the Missing