>>> WERE BACK HERE LIVE IN
OKLAHOMA AS WE AWAIT
PRESIDENT-ELECT JOE BIDENS
ARRIVAL IN TULSAS GREENWOOD
NEIGHBORHOOD.
HE WILL MEET WITH THE SURVIVORS
AND FAMILIES OF THE TULSA
MASSACRE.
WE DONT KNOW HOW MANY PEOPLE
DIED OR WHO THEY WERE.
ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND HISTORIANS
BEGIN WORK TODAY TO ANSWER THOSE
QUESTIONS.
ESCALATIONS BEGIN TODAY IN ONE
OF SEVERAL MASS GRAVE SITES
IDENTIFIED.
GIVEN THE DIMENSIONS OF THE
AREA, THEY BELIEVE THERE COULD
BE MORE THAN 30 UNIDENTIFIED
VICTIMS BURIED THERE.
JOINING US NOW IS NBC NEWS
CORRESPONDENT, ANTONIA HILTON,
WHO IS DOWN THE STREET ACTUALLY
AT OAK LAWN CEMETERY, AND WE
HAVE THE PRESIDENT OF THE ACTION
NETWORK, REVEREND SHARPTON.
AND I WANT TO START WITH YOU,
REVEREND AL, BECAUSE YOU ARE
AWAITING THE ARRIVAL OF
PRESIDENT BIDEN AND HAVE BEEN
TALKING TO SURVIVORS AND THEIR
FAMILIES.
WHAT ARE THEY TELLING YOU RIGHT
NOW?
>> THEY ARE TELLING ME ITS
GREAT TO FINALLIETY GET A
PRESIDENTIAL RECOGNITION, BUT
THEY NEED TO WORK IN REPAIRING
THE DAMAGE AND INVEST IN THIS
COMMUNITY AND THESE SURVIVORS
WENT THROUGH GENERATIONS WHERE
THEY DID NOT ENJOY THE WEALTH
THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN PASSED
DOWN TO THEM THAT WAS DESTROYED
IN THE RACIST MASSACRE, AND I
THINK ITS GREAT WHAT PRESIDENT
BIDEN IS DOING TODAY THAT HAS
NOT BEEN DONE BEFORE, BUT THAT
DOES NOT FULFILL WHAT NEEDS TO
BE DONE.
WE NEED TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE
DONE.
ITS GOOD TO VISIT THE DAMAGE,
BUT YOU MUST REPAIR THE DAMAGE
SO DONT COME AS A TOURIST, COME
AS ONE THAT WILL INVEST IN
REBUILDING AND RESTORING THOSE
THAT WERE HURT 100 YEARS AGO AND
COMING FORWARD.
>> REVEREND AL, YOU, AS I
UNDERSTAND IT, HAVE AN OPEN LINE
TO PRESIDENT BIDEN, AND IN YOUR
CONVERSATIONS WITH HIM DOES HE
FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT, DOES HE
GRASP THE NEED AS IT RELATES TO
THE THREE LIVING SURVIVORS HE
WILL MEET TODAY, DOES HE
UNDERSTAND WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
TO MAKE SURE THE THREE OF THEM
ARE MATE WHOLEMADE WHOLE?
>> I THINK HE DOES.
A COUPLE OF US WILL TALK TO HIM
AFTER THE SPEAK, AND I HAVE NOT
TALKED TO HIM SPECIFICALLY ABOUT
WHAT HES GOING TO SAY TODAY,
AND I DONT HAVE A OPEN LINE,
BUT I THINK HE UNDERSTANDS IT
WHICH IS WHY HE HAS COME.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE FACT THAT,
JEFF, JUST A YEAR AGO, WE WERE
IN THE SAME CITY WHERE ANOTHER
PRESIDENT, HIS PREDECESSOR HAD
COME TO RALLY AND IT WAS ONE OF
THE MOST DIVISIVE RALLY THERE
WAS, AND I CAME TO THE RALLY THE
DAY BEFORE, SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT
2020 TULSA, AND YOU HAD A
PRESIDENT COMING HERE WITH
DIVISIVENESS THAT IGNORED WHAT
HAPPENED IN TULSA IN 1921, AND
YOU LOOK AT 2021 WITH A
PRESIDENT THAT IS ACKNOWLEDGING IT AND THERES A DIFFERENCE THAT
IT AND THERES A DIFFERENCE THAT
A YEAR MAKES, AND WE STILL MUST
HOLD ON TO HOLD MANY
ACCOUNTABLE.
>> ANTONIA, YOU HAVE BEEN
SPEAKING WITH THE TEAM INVOLVED
WITH THIS ESCALATION.
WHAT
EXCAVATION.
WHAT ARE THEY TELLING YOU ABOUT
THE WORK THEY ARE STARTING
TODAY?
>> Reporter: ITS AN EMOTIONAL
AND SOLEMN START TO THE PROCESS.
RESEARCHERS AND ARCHAEOLOGISTS
AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND
DESCENDANTS ARE HERE ON THE
CEMETERY GROUNDS.
THEY HAVE ALREADY BROUGHT OUT
HEAVY MACHINERY, A BACKHOE AND
WILL MOVE THE TOPSOIL ABOVE
COFFINS FROM THE MASS GRAVE THEY
ALREADY IDENTIFIED AND THEN WE
WILL SEE ARCHAEOLOGISTS GET INTO
THE GRAVES WITH SMALL HAND TOOLS
AND BRUSHES AND START THE
PROCESS OF PULLING UP REMAINS
FROM THE EARTH SO THAT
SCIENTISTS AND RESEARCHERS CAN
STUDY THEM AND HOPEFULLY
IDENTIFYING SOME OF THEM AND
CONNECT THEIR STORIES, GIVE US
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT
HAPPENED TO THE MASSACRE, AND
THEY ARE GOING TO BE SEEING IF
THERES TRAUMA SIGNS ON THE
REMAINS, AND THEN CONNECTING
WITH FAMILIES. I WANT YOU TO TAKE A LISTEN TO A
I WANT YOU TO TAKE A LISTEN TO A
TULSA NATIVE AND AN ARC
ARCHAEOLOGISTS AND SHE IS AN
EXPERT IN THE HANDLING OF
ARTIFACTS.
>> AS A NATIVE TULSAN AND MOM,
AND SOMEBODY SOMEWHAT CONNECTED
TO THE HISTORY, ITS KIND OF
TROUBLING AT THE SAME TIME AS
HEALING.
WE ARE DISTURBING SACRED GROUND,
BUT WE ARE DOING IT IN ORDER TO
LOOK AND FIND, SO I THINK ITS
BOTH, LIKE, HUMBLING AND ALSO
TROUBLING THAT WE ARE OUT HERE
DOING A LOT OF THIS, BUT THATS
WHY WE ARE TRYING TO DO IT AS
RESPECTFULLY AS POSSIBLE AND BE
SURE WE ARE GIVING THE PEOPLE
RESPECT, WHOEVER WE FIND HERE,
THAT WE ARE DOING OUR BEST NOT
ONLY TO RECOVER ALL OF THESE
REMAINS BUT TO ACTUALLY FIND
LOVED ONES CONNECTED TO THEM.
>> Reporter: I FREQUENTLY HEAR
THAT SENTIMENT FROM THE
RESEARCHERS INVOLVED AND FROM
COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT THIS IS
SOMEWHAT EMOTIONAL, AND PEOPLE
ARE NERVOUS ABOUT WHAT THEY
MIGHT DISCOVER.
ITS IMPORTANT TO THEM BECAUSE
THIS IS NOT JUST ABOUT
ARCHAEOLOGY AND FINDING SOME
ADDITIONAL PIECES TO PUT IN A
MUSEUM.
THIS IS A CRITICAL PIECE OF THE
RECONCILIATION AND HEALING THAT
HAS BEEN TALKED ABOUT IN THIS
CITY ALL WEEKEND LONG, JEFF.
>> YEAH, ITS A GREAT POINT.
SO REVEREND TURNER, A QUESTION
ABOUT WHY THIS WORK IS JUST
STARTING NOW.
FOR DECADES -- WERE HEARING
CHEERS HERE BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND
PRESIDENT BIDENS MOTORCADE IS
ARRIVING HERE.
FOR DECADES THERE WERE DECADES
OF MASS GRAVES AROUND TULSA, AND
IT WAS NOT AROUND UNTIL THE LATE
90s, THERE WAS A TIP LINE
ESTABLISHED AND IT IDENTIFIED
THE LOCATIONS, SO WHY HAS IT
TAKEN SO LONG FOR THE EXCAVATION
TO BEGIN?
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME.
UNFORTUNATELY HERE IN AMERICA
AND TULSA, ESPECIALLY, THEY HAVE
A PROBLEM ACKNOWLEDGING THAT THE
FIRST TIME THE BOMBS DROPPED
WERE WHITE PEOPLE, AND IT WAS ON
BLACK PEOPLE, AND THEY TRIED TO
HIDE THE HISTORY AND THEY TRIED
TO HIDE THE EVIDENCE, AND THE
MASS GRAVES IS EVIDENCE OF THE
1921 TULSA MASSACRE.
>> REVEREND TURNER, ANY REMAINS
UNCOVERED IN THE MASS GRAVES
COULD BE BURIED AT ALTERNATIVE
SITES.
YOU HAVE OFFERED YOUR CHURCH.
WHY SIT IMPORTANT THAT REMAINS
THAT MIGHT BE DISCOVERED WOULD
BE RE-ENTERED ELSEWHERE?
>> WELL, ITS IMPORTANT BECAUSE
THESE INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE
KILLED WERE INNOCENT AND NEVER
GOT A PROPER BURIAL, AND THE ASH
TO ASH AND DUST TO DUST IS THE
WAY OF THAT
SOUL TO GO WHEREVER ITS
SUPPOSED TO GO.
THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE
KILLED NEVER GOT THAT.
ITS IMPORTANT THAT THEYRE
RE-INTERRED IN A PROPER,
RESPECTFUL MANNER.
>> THERE WAS A RED CROSS REPORT
THAT SUGGESTED THAT 300 PEOPLE
WERE KILLED IN THAT MASSACRE,
BUT THE OFFICIAL TOLL WAS JUST
36 PEOPLE.
26 BLACK FOLK AND 10 WHITE
FOLKS.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR THE REAL
DEATH TOLL TO BE RECOGNIZED A
CENTURY LATER?
>> ITS VERY IMPORTANT.
AND WE STILL BELIEVE THERE ARE
MORE BODIES OUT THERE.
IVE HEARD TESTIMONY FROM PEOPLE
WHO PASSED ON, THEY WERE TOLD
THAT THOUSANDS OF BODIES WERE
DUMPED IN MASS GRAVES.
BUT AT LEAST AT THE MOMENT
THEYRE ACKNOWLEDGING ITS IN
THE HUNDREDS.
WE MUST MAKE SURE EVERYBODY IS
FOUND AND THEY GET THE PROPER