The Tulsa Juneteenth celebration with Westbrook and Harris is occurring at the same time as President Donald Trump’s rally in the city.
Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook will virtually join U.S. Senator Kamala Harris and a wide range of entertainers, artists, and activists on Saturday for a Juneteenth block party in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The complete lineup of speakers can be seen at the block party’s website, which will also include a link to the stream the event.
Known as Juneteenth, June 19 is the oldest nationally celebrated U.S. commemoration of the ending of slavery. Dating back to 1865, it was on that day that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with news that the Civil War had ended and that the enslaved were now free.
Instead of occurring on June 19, though, Westbrook’s block party will occur on Saturday, June 20. There’s a very specific reason for that, since the Saturday evening celebration will run at the same time as U.S. President Donald Trump’s campaign rally in the same city.
Juneteenth holds special significance in Tulsa, which 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.”
Trump’s Tulsa rally was originally scheduled for June 19. But after facing criticism from Harris and many others for the timing being offensive, the event was delayed by a day. Nonetheless, as the tweet by Yahoo’s Chris Haynes indicates, many would still prefer the weekend’s focus to be on other things than the upcoming U.S. presidential election campaign.
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.
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 racial justice movement picked up in intensity with demonstrations throughout the country. On June 7, Westbrook spoke at a Black Lives Matter protest in his hometown of Los Angeles.
Tulsa in particular holds significance to Westbrook, who played the first 11 years of his NBA career in the state. 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 block party at 6 p.m. Central should serve as a prime opportunity to get that message out.
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