Biden to become first president to participate in remembrances of Tulsa race massacre
Hundreds of people gathered outside a church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the deadliest racist massacre in the US – and President Joe Biden is set to honour the victims later today.
The Tulsa race massacre took place between 31 May and 1 June 1921, when white residents in Tulsa’s Greenwood district attacked black residents and burned down businesses, with estimates of death tolls ranging from dozens to 300.
Earlier, civil rights leaders joined local faith leaders offering prayers outside Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was under construction at the time but largely destroyed during the massacre.
Edna Osborne (centre) holds her head down in prayer outside Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church. Pic AP
Reverend William Barber, a civil rights activist, said he was “humbled even to stand on this holy ground”.
“You can kill the people, but you cannot kill the voice of the blood,” he said.
Although the church was nearly destroyed, worshippers continued to meet in the basement and rebuilt it several years later – becoming a symbol of resilience in Tulsa’s black community.
Among those who spoke at the outdoor ceremony were Democratic representatives Barbara Lee, Lisa Blunt Rochester and Chris Coons.
“We’re here to remember, to mourn, to rebuild equitably,” Ms Rochester said.
A candlelight vigil was held to remember victims of the massacre. Pic AP
As the ceremony came to an end, participants put their hands on the prayer wall along the side of the sanctuary while soloist Santita Jackson sang Lift Every Voice and Sing.
Monday’s activities were supposed to culminate in a headline event at ONEOK Fields, with a performance from John Legend and a keynote speech from voting rights activist Stacey Abrams.
However, the event was cancelled last week after an agreement could not be reached over payments for three survivors of the attack.
Police Sargeant Joel Ward views the Field of Heroes at Centennial Park, which contains empty boots to represent Oklahoma’s fallen service members. Pic AP
Mr Biden will be the first president to be part of the remembrances of what happened in what used to be known as ‘Black Wall Street’. Pic AP
In a statement tweeted on Sunday, Legend did not specifically address the cancellation of the event but said: “The road to restorative justice is crooked and rough – and there is space for reasonable people to disagree about the best way to heal the collective trauma of white supremacy.
“But one thing that is not up for debate – one fact we must hold with conviction – is that the path to reconciliation runs through truth and accountability.”
Estimates of death tolls from the violence range from dozens to 300. Pic: AP
Other events included a joint service at the First Baptist Church of North Tulsa led by Reverend John Faison Sr. Pic AP
Meanwhile, other events included a joint service for the massacre at the First Baptist Church of North Tulsa led by Reverend John Faison Sr on Sunday.
On Monday, the Centennial Commission hosted a candlelight vigil to honour the victims of the massacre, and President Biden is scheduled to visit Tulsa on Tuesday.
He will be the first president to be part of the remembrances of what happened in what used to be known as “Black Wall Street”.
Last October, at least 10 bodies were found in an unmarked mass grave during a search for victims of the massacre.
The discovery of 10 coffins was described as significant by the city’s mayor, GT Bynum, who budgeted $100,000 (£71,000) to find victims after previous searches had failed.
Donald Trump has signed a raft of executive orders within hours of returning to the White House as he reversed some of his predecessor Joe Biden’s policies.
The new president told supporters at an inauguration parade event at a sports arena in Washington DC that he would revoke “80 destructive and radical executive actions of the previous administration”.
Trump inauguration: Latest updates
Donald Trump signs pardons for January 6 defendants in the Oval Office. Pic: Reuters
Among Mr Trump‘s first acts after being sworn in as the country’s 47th president on Monday were:
January 6
:: Pardons for about 1,500 Trump supporters who have been charged over the January 6 2021 riot at the US Capitol.
The action also cuts short the sentences of 14 members of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers organisations, including some who were convicted of seditious conspiracy.
Climate
:: Withdrawing the US from the Paris climate agreement. The announcement further threatens the central goal of the agreement to avoid a rise in global temperatures of 1.5C.
Mr Trump withdrew the US from the agreement during his last presidency, but President Biden reversed this decision.
::Revoking a 2021 Biden order that sought to ensure half of all new vehicles sold in the US by 2030 were electric.
Energy
:: Repealing a 2023 memo from Mr Biden that barred oil drilling in 16 million acres in the Arctic. The new president declared a national energy emergency, promising to fill up strategic oil reserves and export US energy all over the world.
“We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it,” the American leader said.
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Trump inauguration: Key moments
Illegal immigration
:: Declaring illegal immigration at the US-Mexico border a national emergency as he plans to send US troops to help support immigration agents and restrict refugees and asylum.
The president has also designated criminal cartels as terrorist organisations, and has taken steps to block citizenship for children of immigrants who are in the US illegally.
Mr Trump reversed several immigration orders from the Biden presidency, including one that narrowed deportation priorities to people who commit serious crimes, are deemed national security threats, or were stopped at the border.
Foreign affairs
:: Temporarily suspending all US foreign assistance programmes for 90 days pending reviews to determine whether they are aligned with his policy goals.
It was not immediately clear how much assistance would initially be affected by the order as funding for many programmes has already been appropriated by Congress and is obligated to be spent, if not already spent.
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Free speech
:: Restoring freedom of speech and preventing censorship of free speech.
:: The president signed a document “ending weaponisation” of government against political opponents.
The order directs the attorney general to investigate the activities of the federal government over the last four years, including at the Department of Justice, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Federal Trade Commission during the previous administration.
It said the government will “identify and take appropriate action to correct past misconduct by the federal government related to the weaponisation of law enforcement and the weaponisation of the intelligence community”.
Death penalty
:: Mr Trump signed a sweeping order on the death penalty, directing the attorney general to “take all necessary and lawful action” to ensure that states have enough lethal injection drugs to carry out executions.
Mr Trump said in the order that “politicians and judges who oppose capital punishment have defied and subverted the laws of our country”. A moratorium on federal executions has been in place since 2021, and only three defendants remain on federal death row after Democratic President Joe Biden converted 37 of their sentences to life in prison.
TikTok
:: Mr Trump signed an executive order to keep TikTok operating for 75 days, a boost for the social media platform’s users even as national security questions remain.
TikTok’s China-based parent company ByteDance was supposed to find a US buyer or be banned on 19 January. Mr Trump’s order could give ByteDance more time to find a buyer.
“I guess I have a warm spot for TikTok,” Mr Trump said.
Return to office
:: Ordering federal workers to return to the office five days a week.
:: The return-to-office order comes alongside a federal hiring freeze, except for the military, and the creation of an advisory body – the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – aimed at reducing the federal government’s size.
Cost of living
:: There was a directive to every department and agency to address the cost of living crisis.
Gender and equality
:: Ending “wasteful” government programmes promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, defend women from “gender ideology extremism” and restore biological truth to the federal government ( two sexes male and female).
Drug cartels
:: Designating cartels and other organisations as foreign terrorist organisations and specially designated global terrorists. “International cartels constitute a national-security threat beyond that posed by traditional organized crime.”
US
Donald Trump inauguration: Trump to declare national emergency at US-Mexico border in blitz of executive orders
Donald Trump has said he will declare an emergency at the US-Mexico border as one of a host of executive orders the incoming president will sign on Monday and in the coming days.
Incoming White House officials have said the first wave of executive orders will cover a mix of campaign trail promises, reversals of outgoing President Joe Biden’s policies and restructuring of the federal government workforce.
One of the most high-profile orders will be Mr Trump declaring a national emergency on the US-Mexico border as part of a wider crackdown on immigration and other cross-border crimes.
Sky News’ US partner NBC News has reported Mr Trump is expected to sign more than 50 executive orders on Monday, and possibly more than 100, citing a person in his transition operation.
Border and immigration
On the border, Mr Trump said he would declare a national emergency in his inaugural speech.
During the inauguration ceremony, Mr Trump said: “All illegal entry will immediately be halted and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places they came.
“I will end the practice of catch and release and I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.
“Under the orders I sign today we will also be designating the cartels as foreign terrorist organisations.”
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a rally the day before he is scheduled to be inaugurated for a second term.
Pic: Reuters/Carlos Barria
In his first term, Mr Trump did the same after Congress refused to give him the money to build a border wall.
Energy and climate
However, the border emergency is not the only one Mr Trump intends to declare.
During his speech, the president said he would also declare “a national energy emergency”, adding: “We will drill baby drill.”
He continued: “We will be a rich nation again, and it is that liquid gold under our feet that will help to do it.”
NBC News reported this is aimed at expanding the administration’s ability to improve domestic energy production.
Alongside that, he reportedly will: allow more drilling both offshore and on federal lands, end a freeze on liquid natural gas exports and cut off climate-related funding that was approved under the Inflation Reduction Act signed by President Biden.
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Government workforce
In another executive order, Mr Trump reportedly will implement Schedule F.
This eliminates job protections for potentially thousands of federal workforce positions, which could make it easier to fire them.
Gender and diversity
Matching talking points from the campaign trail, Mr Trump said it would be government policy, through an executive order, that there would only be two genders recognised by the US government – male and female.
Speaking on Martin Luther King Jr Day he also promised to slash diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts, saying: “This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private life.
“We will forge a society that is colour-blind and merit-based.
“As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the US government that there are only two genders, male and female.”
Mr Trump also intends to reverse an order by President Biden that allows transgender people to serve openly in the military in their self-identified gender.
The order also provided greater access to medical care and even support for gender transition.
The Pentagon and military
Alongside that, NBC News said that Mr Trump would reverse two other decisions by the Democrat who beat him in the 2020 election.
One would change the location of the US Space Command headquarters, moving it from Colorado to Alabama.
The other would reverse a 2022 decision that provided paid leave and reimbursed transportation costs for troops and dependents who travelled out of state for abortion and other reproductive care.
TikTok and Hunter Biden
Mr Trump has said he would sign an extension for TikTok to find a buyer, to comply with the law that went into effect on Sunday.
Mr Trump would also reportedly suspend security clearance for 51 national security officials who signed a letter saying that Hunter Biden’s emails and laptop had the hallmarks of a Russian operation.
“Hats off! No bags! No drinks, no food, no water, no nothing. Everything out of your pockets. Come on – let’s go, let’s go let’s go!”
Security’s tough at the front of the line. There is a real sense of urgency.
It is bitterly cold outside Washington’s Capital One Arena and people have been queuing since 3.30am. Everyone’s keen to get in.
The queue snakes all the way around the back of the Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library and down the block.
Inauguration Day happens to coincide with MLK Day (Martin Luther King Jr Day) this year. There was meant to be an outside match to commemorate that too, but it’s been cancelled because of the cold.
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It’s now 7am and the queue starts moving. There’s a huge cheer at the front.
Despite the freezing temperatures and wind chill, people are excited. They came here for Trump, and it would have been colder on the National Mall in any case. They’re psyched.
“I spent so much money on my bills – they’re gonna go down, everything’s gonna go down and my pay rate is gonna go up,” says Dan French, who’s dressed as Uncle Sam.
Tabitha, from New York, believes Mr Trump will sort out the economy
Tabitha agrees. “New York, where I’m from, is a hot mess,” she says. “Everything is expensive, housing, food. Trump is going to come in and clean this up.”
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It’s a sea of red MAGA caps, USA flags, Trump and MAGA memorabilia. The street vendors are having a field day.
An extra layer helps, especially if it has Trump on it.
Grady, from Texas, in the queue outside Washington’s Capital One Arena
Grady from Texas has a ‘Daddy’s Home’ sweatshirt with a big picture of Trump on it. Immigration is why he voted Trump.
“Our borders are broken. It affects all of our communities. The fentanyl crisis is out of control,” he says.
I ask how this term will be different from the last. “We’re gonna get a lot more done,” Grady says.
“He knows a little bit about how to govern, he’ll be able to hit the ground running. He has new ideas and a whole cabinet of outsiders.”
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Trump is expected to promise a revolution of common sense in his inaugural speech. I ask Grady what he thinks that means.
“Cancel culture and woke culture, there’s a lot of things that don’t make sense in this county especially on social issues,” he replies.
“We don’t have to overcomplicate things, cancel culture is dead now so I think to get away from that is what he means.”
And did Biden have no common sense?
“Oh no,” says Dan (aka Uncle Sam). “Biden had no sense at all”.
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