After years of speculation and work, the city of Tulsa says it’s located for the first time a grave of a missing man who died in the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre.
Mayor G.T. Bynum said at an emotional city hall press conference Friday that researchers identified C.L. Daniel, a young World War 1 veteran who died in the attack sparked by claims that a Black man raped a white woman. Daniel was missing for 103 years.
“Identifying Mr. Daniel’s remains has been, candidly, an emotionally powerful experience for every person on our team,” said Bynum.
Daniel was traveling from Utah to visit family in Georgia when he stopped in the prosperous area of Tulsa known as Black Wall Street, according to Bynum. There were no signs of trauma but researchers said if the bullet was not embedded in bone, it would be difficult to tell if Daniel was shot.
Daniel was previously suspected to be a victim of the racist attack that claimed as many as 300 lives. In 1936, Stanford Arnold, an attorney, solicited help on behalf of Daniel's mother as she sought any veterans benefits she may be due. Arnold wrote to the Veterans Administration, citing Daniel's death in the massacre and his mother's subsequent struggle.
“She is in destitute circumstances,” the letter says.
For years, advocates have called for reparations for victims and descendants of victims. Last month, the Oklahoma Supreme Court rejected an appeal from the last two known living survivors of the massacre.
Daniel was found in Oaklawn Cemetery, where officials estimate there could be 17 other race massacre victim graves.
Lead forensic anthropologist Phoebe Stubblefield, a descendant of massacre victims herself, said she has “no doubt” more remains will be discovered, though she expressed shock at finding Daniel after so many years.
“I’m still flabbergasted,” said Stubblefield.
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