Thousands gathered in US cities on Friday to mark Juneteenth, a holiday commemorating the end of slavery that carries special resonance this year after a wave of protests calling for racial justice and police accountability.
In addition to the traditional picnics and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation — the Civil War-era order that declared all slaves free in Confederate territory — Americans were marching and holding sit-ins or car caravan protests to demand racial justice and police reform.
In Houston, Texas, the co-pastor of the Good Hope Missionary Baptist Church, Christopher Johnson, said Juneteenth used to be a celebration, a symbol that African Americans had moved past the “stain” of racism and slavery.
But this year the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and Rayshard Brooks at the hands of law enforcement and neighbourhood vigilantes have turned the holiday into a time of reflection, he said.
“For us it’s a reminder that every generation has to fight for their freedom,” Mr Johnson said, “that freedom is never really won”.
Juneteenth comes on the heels of weeks of protests triggered by the killing of Mr Floyd.
Rallies were held in cities coast to coast, including Washington, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles.
In New York City, a few hundred protesters mostly wearing masks due to the coronavirus, gathered outside the Brooklyn Museum holding signs that read “Black Lives Matter” and “Say their names”.
In Nashville, Tennessee, about two dozen black men, most wearing suits, quietly stood arm in arm on Friday morning in front of the building that houses the city’s criminal courts. Behind them was a statue of Justice Adolpho Birch, the first African American to serve as chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Most states now recognise Juneteenth, which is a blend of the words June and 19th, as a state holiday or day of recognition.
President Donald Trump issued a presidential message for Juneteenth in which he noted “the unimaginable injustice of slavery and the incomparable joy that must have attended emancipation”.
Mr Trump had originally been scheduled to speak in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Friday, but changed the date to Saturday amid an uproar about his appearance on a date of such significance. Protesters have been gathering at the venue this week ahead of his appearance.
The president warned in a tweet that authorities would treat protesters more harshly than in other major US cities where anti-police brutality demonstrations have taken place.
Tulsa imposed a curfew for the the weekend ahead of Mr Trump's rally.
Another one of Mr Trump's tweets garnered attention on Thursday after it was labeled as 'manipulated media' by Twitter. The US president posted a doctored news clip with a misspelled banner flashing "Terrified todler runs from racist baby."
The original video, which went viral on social media in 2019, showed a black toddler and a white toddler running towards each other and hugging.
The clip shared in Mr Trump's tweet first shows the part where one of those toddlers is seen running ahead of the other. At one point the banner reads: "Racist baby probably a Trump voter".
The tweeted video received more than 7.7 million views and 125,000 retweets.
Meanwhile, in Atlanta, police officers continued to call out sick to protest the filing of murder charges against an officer who shot Rayshard Brooks in the back. The interim chief acknowledged that members of the force feel abandoned amid protests demanding massive changes to policing.
Interim Chief Rodney Bryant told The Associated Press that the sick calls began Wednesday night and continued Thursday, but said the department had sufficient staff to protect the city.
In Louisville, the mayor announced on Friday that one of three police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor will be fired.
Mayor Greg Fischer said the interim Louisville police chief had started termination proceedings for Officer Brett Hankison. Two other officers remain on administrative reassignment while the shooting is investigated.
“When investigating potential civil rights violations, the FBI will take a fresh look at all the evidence,” the FBI said in a statement. “Today’s action is part of this process.”
Ms Taylor, who was Black, was shot eight times by officers who burst into her Louisville home using a no-knock warrant during a March 13 narcotics investigation. No drugs were found at her home.