 |
| The push to make Juneteenth a federal holiday. |
Friday was supposed to be the night Donald J. Trump was going to hold his controversial rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The incompetent president wanted to kick off his first campaign rally after three months of being held back because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On social media he tweeted that he had to reschedule out of respect of his few Black supporters.
We had previously scheduled our #MAGA Rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for June 19th – a big deal. Unfortunately, however, this would fall on the Juneteenth Holiday. Many of my African American friends and supporters have reached out to suggest that we consider changing the date out...— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 13, 2020
He had time to post two controversial tweets that Twitter flagged as manipulated media.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 19, 2020
Trump was facing some serious flack over holding this rally. For one, he was holding this rally in Tulsa, the site of a terrorist attack on African Americans.
The destruction of Tulsa's Greenwood district happened in 1921. It was called "the single worst incident of racial violence in American history." The attack was carried out on the ground and from private aircraft, destroyed more than 35 square blocks of the neighborhood. The district was once the place where wealthy African Americans lived. They dubbed it "Black Wall Street."
 |
| Tulsa, Oklahoma. |
That district sits northeast of downtown Tulsa.
So he decided to host it on Saturday and the city leaders, health officials and Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt are pleading with Trump to reconsider the consequences of this rally.
To have a rally inside the BOK Center could put thousands of people at risk of exposure to the COVID-19. Trump bragged that millions of people want to see him. So that means folks from Kansas, Missouri, Texas and Oklahoma will travel to Tulsa to see him.
Trump also told people attending to not blame him or the campaign if they catch the virus.
Tulsa mayor G.T. Bynum, a Republican fears Trump's arrival will spark unrest in the city. With racial tensions rising in the wake of George Floyd killing and numerous other incidents with police, Tulsa could spark another week of unrest in the country. He issued a curfew for the city starting at 9pm and has threatened to shutdown Interstate 244, U.S. 64, U.S. 75 and U.S. 412 around downtown.
Today is Juneteenth, or the day when African Americans were freed. It's a holiday celebrating the liberation of those who were held as slaves in the United States. Originating in Texas, it's now celebrated throughout the United States.
Juneteenth has never been a celebration of victory, or an acceptance of the way things are. It's a celebration of progress. It's an affirmation that despite the most painful parts of our history, change is possible––and there is still so much work to do.https://t.co/5XCRdnk3iR— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 19, 2020
Today we celebrate #Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the U.S. In honor of today, I would like to share the story "All Different Now" by Angela Johnson, which sheds a light on the first Juneteenth through the eyes of a young girl. pic.twitter.com/ZG9zoup4yG— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) June 19, 2020
The Emancipation Proclamation officially outlawed slavery. It took 2 1/2 years before Texas would eventually comply to the terms of the Confederacy's surrender to the Union.
Now there's a push to make it a federal holiday and kicking it off is Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX).
A group of Senate Democrats announced Friday that they would introduce the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, legislation to designate the day, and if passed, would make Juneteenth the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Day was recognized in 1983.
“Together with my colleagues Cory Booker, Tina Smith, and Ed Markey, we are proposing that Juneteenth be a national holiday. And we are dropping that bill saying that Juneteenth should be a national holiday."
“Juneteenth is about reclaiming our history, rejoicing in the progress we’ve made, and recommitting to the work yet undone. Our nation still has a long way to go to reckon with and overcome the dark legacy of slavery and the violence and injustice that has persisted after its end. Making Juneteenth a federal holiday represents a step forward in the journey of healing America is still taking," Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said in a statement.
Tina Smith is a Democratic senator from Minnesota and Ed Markey is a Democratic senator from Massachusetts.
Jackson Lee introduced similar legislation to establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday in the House Thursday.
President Trump: “I did something good: I made Juneteenth very famous...It’s actually an important event, an important time. But nobody had ever heard of it.”— Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) June 18, 2020
Reminder: Juneteeth has been celebrated since long before President Trump was born.https://t.co/jttPgwnhPW
Trump made a snide remark in regards to Juneteenth. In a interview with The Wall Street Journal, he remarked about it. "I did something good: I made Juneteenth famous. It's actually an important event, an important time. But nobody ever heard of it."
The Senate Democrats' bill comes after Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas also announced plans to introduce a bill to make Juneteenth a federal holiday.
 |
| Sheila Jackson Lee, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker push for Juneteenth to be a holiday. |
Congress has the authority to create federal holidays -- any legislation would need to clear both the House and Senate before being signed into law by the president.
Despite President Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation -- which ordered the abolition of slavery in the Confederacy -- it took 30 months and 19 days for the order to be carried out in Galveston, Texas -- the last part of the Confederate States of America where African Americans were still enslaved.
 |
| Democrats are pushing for civil rights. . |
While all but three U.S. states recognize the day, the holiday was thrust into the national political spotlight recently after President Donald Trump scheduled a campaign event for June 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma -- a city notorious for one of the nation's worst instances of racial violence.
The president later moved the date of the rally to June 20, tweeting his decision was made "out of respect" for the holiday.
Congressional calls for a federal Juneteenth holiday come amid similar support from corporate executives and sports officials.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced this week that he would close league offices on Juneteenth. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said he planned to make June 19 an annual holiday.
State officials have also recently moved to give greater recognition to the date. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order declaring June 19 a paid holiday for state employees.
Virginia Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam also said he plans to make Juneteenth a permanent paid state holiday.
"It's time we elevate Juneteenth not just as a celebration by and for some Virginians, but one acknowledged and commemorated by all of us. It mattered then because it marked the end of slavery in this country, and it matters now because it says to Black communities, this is not just your history—this is everyone’s shared history, and we will celebrate it together," Northam said in a statement Tuesday.
Democrats and Republicans see the writing on the wall. The years of watching African Americans take abuse has to stop. We need get the ball rolling now. I am tired of being subjected to being considered less than human in the eyes of extremists.
If we can eliminate the anti-Black mentality of some folks in this country, the path to equality should eventually come. Over 400 years of this bullshit is enough.
No comments:
Post a Comment