"In This Soil, There Is Also Hope"

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Tulsa race massacre survivors Viola Fletcher, center, and her brother Hughes Van Ellis, right, participate in a soil dedication ceremony yesterday in Tulsa, OK on the 100th anniversary of the atrocity.

Soil collected from the site of the massacre is collected in jars. So many of the victims were never identified, and the soil is a reminder of that. Kiara Boone of the Equal Justice Initiative remarked yesterday

"And we know that in the soil, there is the sweat of those who were enslaved. We know that in the soil, there is the blood of those who are victims of racial terror, violence and lynching. We know that in this soil, there are the tears of those who labored under the indignation and humiliation of Jim Crow segregation," Boone said. "But in this soil, there is also hope, there’s also the opportunity for new life and new beginning and commitment."

(photos: Lawrence Bryant / Reuters)