A nationally televised event commemorating the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, featuring appearances by Stacey Abrams and singer John Legend, has been canceled just four days before broadcast, with organizers blaming “unexpected circumstances with entertainers and speakers.”
“Remember & Rise,” which was scheduled for broadcast Monday, was supposed to feature Stacey Abrams delivering a keynote address to a crowd of 6,000 people at the ONEOK Field in Tulsa.
In a statement sent to multiple media outlets, the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission didn’t elaborate on the causes of the sudden cancellation.
“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,” the statement said.
The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 took place over two days during the summer when a mob killed an estimated 300 people and wounded 800, most of them black.
CBS News reported that Monday’s broadcast was canceled after a lawyer representing massacre survivors and their heirs made demands that the organizing commission considered unreasonable. The demands reportedly included $1 million each for survivors of the massacre and a non-negotiable $50 million pledge to a fund for survivors and descendants.
The lawyer told CBS News that the commission hasn’t been negotiating in good faith for months, adding that the survivors never agreed to participate in the event.
President Joe Biden is still scheduled to visit Tulsa on Tuesday to commemorate the centenary of the massacre.
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