May 25 (UPI) — President Joe Biden will travel to Tulsa, Okla., next week to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre, the White House said.
The White House did not immediately provide details of the trip recognizing the centennial of the 1921 attack by a White mob that killed 300 Black residents and destroyed more than 1,000 homes, businesses, churches and schools.
The Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission announced last week that political activist and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will be the keynote speaker for a televised event that will also feature singer John Legend.
Also last week, the last known living survivors of the massacre testified before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties as it considers reparations for survivors and their families.
“I will never forget the violence of the White mob when we left our home,” 107-year-old Viola Fletcher said. “I still see Black men being shot, Black bodies lying in the street. I still smell smoke and see fire. I still see Black businesses being burned. I still hear airplanes flying overhead. I hear the screams.”
Former President Donald Trump traveled to Tulsa during his 2020 election campaign, prompting local authorities to activate the National Guard.
The rally was originally set to be held on June 19 when Juneteenth, a holiday celebrating the emancipation of slaves in Texas in 1865, is recognized but was pushed back to the following day after criticism.
