Remembering Slavery’s Legacy on Juneteenth

. THE WEEK IN RIGHTS | June 18, 2020 Remembering Slavery’s Legacy on Juneteenth Photo © 2020 Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images As mass demonstrations continue across the United States, spurred by police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and many other Black people, officials should recognize that many of the racial inequalities and disparities driving the protests stem from the US failure to adequately account for and address the harm caused by slavery and its enduring impact. Juneteenth celebrates the emancipation of the last large population of enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas, who were informed they were free on June 19, 1865. While President Trump heads to Tulsa, Oklahoma this weekend for a political rally, Human Rights Watch will join residents and partners in the city to commemorate the upcoming centennial of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, which targeted the Black community there. Activists have been calling on US officials to finally provide reparations to still-living victims of the massacre, their descendants, and those who remain affected by the tragedy. If the US does not finally address the accumulated effects of historical and present harm for Black people, it risks continuing to carry slavery’s legacy forward, causing new harm indefinitely into the future. READ MORE » TAKE ACTION: TULSA REPARATIONS NOW » LIVE UPDATES: RACE, JUSTICE, AND ELECTIONS IN THE US »   End Violence, Harassment at Work No one should have to tolerate violence and harassment, but for many workers – especially women – it is often an inevitable part of getting or keeping a job. READ MORE »   Police Targeting ‘Street Medics’ at US Protests Omid is a street medic. Police arrested him on May 30 in Brooklyn and detained him in a crowded cell with 14 demonstrators for around 2 hours. Omid is not alone: Across the United States, police have targeted street medics with the same brutality used against those protesting the institution’s systemic racism. READ MORE »   For Sarah Hegazy: In Rage, in Grief, in Exhaustion On Sunday, June 14, Sarah Hegazy, a 30-year-old Egyptian queer feminist whose resistance centered around a deconstruction of class power and struggle, took her own life in exile in Canada. READ MORE »   The Daily Brief Get breaking human rights news delivered to your Inbox all week. SIGN UP NOW » Thank you for supporting Human Rights Watch! Follow Us On: Human Rights Watch | 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor | New York, NY 10118-3299 USA | t 1.212.290.4700