The US Commemorates the End of Slavery During Anti-Racism Protests

The annual commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States on June 19 falls this year during mounting tensions over racism.

 

After the recent deaths of several black Americans by white agents, the discussion of police brutality and discrimination has once again reached a boiling point.

June 19 is an unofficial American public holiday. Juneteenth (a combination of June and nineteenth), also known as Liberation Day, commemorates that on that day in 1865 all slaves in the US state of Texas were declared free.

This brought an end to slavery in the US after the American Civil War.

US President Donald Trump, who is out for reelection in November, wanted to hold his first major campaign meeting in the corona crisis this day. Also, the location, the city of Tulsa, is sensitive.

Black Americans were the target of a notorious killing spree here nearly a century ago. The manifestation was then postponed one day. Trump has already received a wave of criticism for threatening to use the military against anti-racism protests.

In contrast, many companies want to support the Black Lives Matter movement on June 19. For example, Twitter CEO and founder Jack Dorsey declared June 19 a public holiday at the company.

He pays tribute to the so-called Emancipation Proclamation, an 1862 decision by US President Abraham Lincoln that ultimately liberated millions of black people in the US from slavery.