Russell Westbrook speaks at Tulsa Juneteenth party opposite Trump

In a Juneteenth celebration, the former NBA MVP delivered strong remarks on the importance of Black lives and the racial justice movement.

At the same day and time as U.S. President Donald Trump held a campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, former Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook joined a separate party to promote racial justice.

In a virtual appearance on Saturday night’s Tulsa Juneteenth Block Party celebration, the former NBA MVP and nine-time All-Star discussed the importance of young people standing up for their beliefs.

Now 31 years old and a member of the Houston Rockets, Westbrook offered candid remarks on difficult subjects. He said:

I feel like it’s my duty — not just as an African-American male, but being in this position [and] having this platform — to now be able to show and let people know that it’s okay to stand up for what you believe in. It’s okay to be able to sacrifice. It’s okay to be able to stand up and be strong and understand how important your word, your movement, the youth movement is. Because I believe that with my platform, I’m able to kind of reach that demographic of people and kids around the world to let them know it’s okay to be able to stand up.

Westbrook identified voting, improving the police system, and racism as three critical issues. “Finding ways to be able to lift those three things up to be able to change our world is important,” he said.

Regarding recent issues of police brutality, Westbrook added:

I don’t want my kids growing up to see the police as somebody that is bad for them, to see them as somebody that’s gonna potentially to be able to kill them. That’s something that we need to change.

Regarding the importance of voting, Westbrook said:

I feel like my duty is to be able to get people educated on why you should vote, understand what you’re voting for, understand why you should vote. … That’s where I want to be able to make change in today’s society.

Saturday’s event came on the weekend of an important celebration in Black culture. Known as Juneteenth, June 19 is the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery. Dating back to 1865, it was that day when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the U.S. Civil War had ended and that the enslaved were now free.

As with many U.S. locations, Tulsa has seen its share of racial issues, historically. It was the site of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, when mobs of white residents attacked black residents and businesses. Some have called it “the single worst incident of racial violence in American history.”

Westbrook’s Saturday event  — which also featured other speakers such as U.S. Senator Kamala Harris — ran at the same time as Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa and effectively served as counter-programming. That wasn’t a coincidence, and it’s also not the first time that Westbrook has signaled his disapproval of the president, who has drawn ire from many for the handling of race relations during his presidency.

In September 2017, when Westbrook was a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Trump called out NFL players who were protesting police brutality by kneeling during the U.S. national anthem. Westbrook, who at the time was the NBA’s reigning MVP, responded by saying this:

Obviously, the things he’s saying is outrageous, in my opinion. It’s uncalled for, especially due to all the other things we have going on in the world. You know, the people, the families, the people all across the world that are hurting, that need help, that need guidance from our house. But I think it’s unnecessary and uncalled for. I’m definitely not in agreement to anything he says, and I never will be.

Saturday’s celebration was the latest in a series of recent events in which Westbrook has helped spotlight the racial justice movement.

After the May 2020 death of George Floyd, who died when a white police officer kneeled on his neck for over eight minutes during an arrest in Minneapolis, the movement has picked up in intensity in recent weeks with demonstrations throughout the country. On June 7, Westbrook spoke at a Black Lives Matter protest in his hometown of Los Angeles.

Tulsa also holds personal significance to Westbrook, who played the first 11 years of his NBA career in nearby Oklahoma City. Earlier this month, Westbrook announced that he would be serving as executive producer of a new documentary series on the Tulsa Race Massacre.

“Spending 11 years in Oklahoma opened my eyes to the rich and sordid history of the state,” Westbrook said. He continued:

When I learned about the heartbreaking events that happened in Tulsa nearly 100 years ago, I knew this was a story I wanted to tell. It’s upsetting that the atrocities that transpired then are still so relevant today. It’s important we uncover the buried stories of African Americans in this country. We must amplify them, now more than ever, if we want to create change moving forward.

It’s clear that Westbrook is intent on using his fame and platform to help promote change in communities, and Saturday’s virtual party was the latest example of him finding his voice away from the basketball court.

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