Trump delays Oklahoma rally after decry of massacre on Juneteenth
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As Black Lives Matter protests reverberate around the US and the world, the choice of date had been criticised as incendiary given the historic symbolism of the Tulsa race massacre in which up to 300 black Americans were killed by white mobs.
Donald Trump has postponed his planned election rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the scene of one of the worst race massacres in US history, amid outcry over its clash with the Juneteenth holiday marking the end of US slavery.
The gathering, which had also caused alarm among health officials tackling the coronavirus pandemic – was to be held on 19 June, the anniversary of the day in 1865 when a general read out Abraham Lincoln’s emancipation proclamation in Texas, freeing slaves in the last un-emancipated state.
On Friday night, the US president reversed his decision to hold a rally then as a “celebration” of that day, pushing it back one day to “honour requests” from the African American community.
The change came as Trump further stoked controversy over race issues and policing by saying that chokeholds sounded “so innocent and so perfect”, and once again claimed he has been the best president for black Americans, only partially conceding that Abraham Lincoln may have surpassed him.
As Black Lives Matter protests reverberate around the US and the world, the choice of date had been criticised as incendiary given the historic symbolism of the Tulsa race massacre in which up to 300 black Americans were killed by white mobs.