TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — The Minnesota shootings were on the minds of political leaders ranging from Arizona’s Governor to county and city officials, as they gathered to honor the annual Juneteenth Celebration.
The Juneteenth celebration at Tucson’s Kino Sports Complex recognizes a very important day in African American History but it also turned into some references on some very recent acts of political violence.
A parade kicked off the celebration. Juneteenth remembers June 19, 1865. That’s the day Union troops told enslaved people in Texas they had been freed. They were so isolated deep in the Confederacy they did not hear about the Emancipation Proclamation three years before.
Governor Katie Hobbs talked of progress since that day but also the continued need to fight injustice but first she mentioned the shootings of four people in Minnesota, including elected state representatives.
Governor Hobbs says political violence is increasing and we all need to cool the temperature of how we settle our differences.
“We may disagree hugely, but peaceful discourse and disagreement is the cornerstone of democracy, no matter what your politics are and we all need to recommit ourselves to resolving our political differences without violence and unite in our shared belief in America's democratic principles.”
Dr. Cheree Meeks is President of the Tucson NAACP. She says Juneteenth is a celebration of resilience and a reminder that history repeats itself. She says here in modern times, hard won rights are being rolled back.
“When we think about the opportunity for people to be able to vote, to have access to that, to voting centers, to have access to being able to vote, when I think about education information and the history that's there or is not there, books are being banned, history being erased, history not being told and we're going to see how that plays out in years to come.”
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Craig Smith is a reporter for KGUN 9. With more than 40 years of reporting in cities like Tampa, Houston and Austin, Craig has covered more than 40 Space Shuttle launches and covered historic hurricanes like Katrina, Ivan, Andrew and Hugo. Share your story ideas and important issues with Craig by emailing craig.smith@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook and Twitter.
