Juneteenth: Trump changes Tulsa Oklahoma rally date 'out of respect'

2020-06-13 20:03:10

US President Donald Trump is postponing his first post-coronavirus lockdown election rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma so it does not fall on a holiday commemorating the end of US slavery. He tweeted that the 19 June rally would be held a day later out of respect for the occasion, known as Juneteenth. The choice of date had drawn criticism amid nationwide anti-racism protests. The location was also controversial, as Tulsa saw one of the worst massacres of black people in US history in 1921. Up to 300 people died when a white mob attacked the prosperous black neighbourhood of Greenwood, known as the "Black Wall Street", with guns and explosives. About 1,000 businesses and homes were also destroyed.