Trump delays rally to avoid slavery date

US President Donald Trump is postponing his very first post-coronavirus lockdown election rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma so it does not fall on a holiday commemorating the end of United States slavery.

He tweeted that the 19 June rally would be held a day later out of regard for the occasion, referred to as Juneteenth.

The option of date had drawn criticism amid across the country anti-racism demonstrations.

The place was also controversial, as Tulsa saw one of the worst massacres of black individuals in US history in 1921.

As Much As 300 people died when a white mob assaulted the flourishing black neighbourhood of Greenwood, known as the “Black Wall Street”, with weapons and dynamites. About 1,000 organisations and homes were also destroyed.

Why is Juneteenth considerable?

Juneteenth is not a federal holiday, however is commonly celebrated by African Americans.

It celebrates the reading of the Emancipation Pronouncement to enslaved African Americans in Texas.

Texas was the last state of the Confederacy – the slaveholding southern states that withdrawed, activating the Civil War – to receive the proclamation, on 19 June 1865, months after completion of the war.

President Trump initially defended the timing of his rally, telling Fox News: “Think about it as a celebration. My rally is an event. In the history of politics, I believe I can state there’s never ever been any group or anyone that’s had rallies like I do.”

However critics accused him of disrespecting the date and the significance of Tulsa to United States history.

” This isn’t simply a wink to white supremacists – he’s throwing them a welcome home party,” stated Democratic Senator Kamala Harris.

Describing the choice to move his rally, Mr Trump tweeted: “Many of my African American pals and advocates have actually reached out to suggest that w