‘We Remember’: Vigil Held Following Tulsa Mass Grave Discovery

Tulsans held a candlelight vigil on Thursday in honor of the 12 people found in a mass grave at Oaklawn Cemetery.

The remains were found as part of the search for possible Tulsa Race Massacre victims.

Pastors, community leaders and fellow Tulsans addressed the enormity of the discovery, but said it is just the first step in seeking justice.

This week, archeologists said they uncovered human remains from a total of 12 people found in coffins at Oaklawn Cemetery. The archaeologists said that's enough to constitute a mass grave.

Related Story: Archaeologists Finish Search At Oaklawn After Finding Mass Grave

For now, the remains will stay in the ground because they're too fragile to remove.

Researchers said it's too early to know if the people were victims of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. Regardless, organizers of tonight's vigil said the massacre is something they will continue to speak up about.

"I want you to picture if that was a member of your family and you had decades of not knowing what happened to them, would you be so cavalier as to tell someone they should just forget about it, that it's something that happened and you should just move on-- or would you want the truth to be known?" said CJ Webber-Neal, the President of the Greenwood Arts and Cultural Society. 

Thursday afternoon, crews carefully filled back up the two trenches they dug this week. 

The search team is now going through a legal process and hopes to remove the remains next year to study them.