Black Tulsans call Trump rally plan ‘a slap in the face’
OKLAHOMA CITY — Black community and political leaders called on President Donald Trump to at least change the Juneteenth date for a rally kicking off his return to public campaigning, saying Thursday that plans for a rally on the day that marks the end of slavery in America come as a “slap in the face.”
Two Trump campaign officials expressed surprise at the strong objections to the date, but said Thursday the campaign is not considering changing it.
From Sen. Kamala Harris of California to Tulsa civic officials, black leaders said it was offensive for Mr. Trump to pick that day — June 19 — and that place — Tulsa, an Oklahoma city that in 1921 was the site of a fiery and orchestrated white-on-black killing spree.
“This isn’t just a wink to white supremacists — he’s throwing them a welcome home party,” Ms. Harris, a leading contender to be Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s running mate, tweeted of Mr. Trump’s rally plans.
“To choose the date, to come to Tulsa, is totally disrespectful and a slap in the face to even happen,” said Sherry Gamble Smith, president of Tulsa’s Black Wall Street Chamber of Commerce, an organization named after the prosperous black community that white Oklahomans burned down in the 1921 attack.
At a minimum, Gamble Smith said, the campaign should “change it to Saturday the 20th, if they’re going to have it.”
Mr. Trump announced the rally plan Wednesday afternoon. It comes as his harsh law-and-order stance appears to fall increasingly out of sync with a growing concern over police abuse of African Americans after the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Mr. Trump campaign officials defended the rally.
“As the party of Lincoln, Republicans are proud of the history of Juneteenth,” said Katrina Pierson, senior adviser to the Trump campaign. “President Trump has built a record of success for Black Americans, including unprecedented low unemployment prior to the global pandemic, all-time high funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and criminal justice reform.”
The Trump campaign was aware in advance that the date for the president’s return to rallies was Juneteenth, according to the two campaign officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly about internal discussions and spoke on condition of anonymity.
When the date was discussed, it was noted that Mr. Biden had held a fundraiser a year ago on Juneteenth. Though choosing June 19 was not meant to be incendiary, some blowback was expected, the officials said. But the campaign was caught off guard by the intensity, particularly when some linked the selection to the 1921 massacre.
Scheduling the highly anticipated comeback rally in Oklahoma, a state Mr. Trump won easily in 2016, raised eyebrows.
The campaign picked Tulsa’s BOK Center, with a listed seat capacity of 19,199. The arena’s Facebook page shows organizers calling off shows there by country singer Alan Jackson and other performers into mid-July, citing the coronavirus pandemic.
Arena marketing director Meghan Blood said Thursday she didn’t know yet about any plans for social distancing or other coronavirus precautions for Mr. Trump’s rally, which would be one of the larger public gatherings in the U.S. at this stage of the outbreak.
The campaign registration site for the rally includes a waiver for each attendee, absolving the Trump campaign and organizers from “all risks related to exposure to COVID19.” It cites a risk of coronavirus in any public place.
The campaign officials said the Trump campaign picked Oklahoma because arrangements could be made quickly, for a variety of reasons including that Oklahoma has a Republican, Trump-friendly governor and the state is not seeing huge numbers of coronavirus cases.