This archive report was first published on 19 June 2020.
Juneteenth, marking the day in 1865 when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas to inform slaves of their freedom, has become a day of reflection and protest in the United States.
On June 19, 2020, thousands of Americans marched through cities including Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and Washington, demanding racial justice and an end to police brutality.
President Donald Trump's decision to hold a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma on the same day sparked controversy, with critics accusing him of insensitivity and opportunism.
Trump's rally was initially scheduled for June 19, but was later moved to June 20 amid public outcry over the choice of date and location.
Tulsa has a painful history of racial violence, including the 1921 massacre in which up to 300 black Americans were killed.
Trump's decision to hold the rally in Tulsa was criticized by local leaders, including Mayor G.T. Bynum, who declared a curfew in the city amid fears of violence.
However, Trump later announced that the curfew had been lifted for supporters attending his rally.
Other leaders, including Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, used the occasion to call for greater action on racial justice.
Biden said that Juneteenth reminded Americans of the nation's vulnerability to systems of inhumanity, but also of its ability to change.
Pelosi called for a day of reflection that would move the nation to confront and combat its history of systemic racial injustice.
