Tulsa Race Massacre event with John Legend, Stacey Abrams canceled

The event was canceled due to "unexpected circumstances"

May 28, 2021

According to a recent report, the Tulsa Race Massacre event with John Legend and Stacey Abrams has been canceled, citing “unexpected circumstances” that would have featured various entertainers and speakers.

As theGrio previously reported, political icon Abrams and singer-songwriter Legend were set to speak at the nationally-televised event Remember & Rise, in honor of the 100th year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. Organized by the Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission, the event was set to broadcast on Monday, May 31 from ONEOK Field in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Now, according to recent reports, it seems the televised event was canceled due to “unexpected cirucmstances.”

Stacey Abrams John Legend thegrio.com — (Photos by DNCC via Getty Images and Getty Images for the Critics Choice Association)

In a statement on Thursday, the Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission released a statement regarding the sudden cancellation. They shared in the statement, “Due to unexpected circumstances with entertainers and speakers, the Centennial Commission is unable to fulfill our high expectations for Monday afternoon’s commemoration event and has determined not to move forward with the event at this time. We have hopes to reschedule later in this 100^th commemorative year.”

While not mentioned in the statement, it is worth mentioning that the Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin that many of the 100th anniversary Tulsa Race Massacre events could be targets from racially motivated attacks. Per a report from CNN, the DHS shared that the events, “probably are attractive targets for some racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist-white supremacists to commit violence.”

Tulsa Race Massacre thegrio.com — Injured and wounded men are being taken to hospital by National guardsmen after racially motivated riots, also known as the “Tulsa Race Massacre”, during which a mobs of white residents attacked black residents and businesses of the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, US. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Per The Wrap, the DHS expanded upon their statement, detailing exactly why these events could be a target. They detailed in the statement that white supremacists, “historically have used simple tactics, such as vehicle ramming, small arms, edged weapons, and rudimentary explosive devices to target individuals perceived as having ideologically opposing views, racial minorities, or law enforcement at mass gatherings or crowded public spaces.”

As theGrio previously reported, Abrams released a statement on the legacy of the Tulsa Race Massacre along with the announcement of the now-canceled special. She shared at the time that the Tulsa Race Massacre, “compels us to reflect on this tragic history, without which reconciliation is impossible.” She continued, “Its reverberations continue across communities today, where too many Black Americans face economic hardship, disproportionate police and gun violence and assaults on their freedom to vote.”

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