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Hindustan Times
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Kroger under fire for ‘Lazy' Juneteenth cakes: Watch
Kroger is under fire after a video showing a series of poorly decorated Juneteenth cakes went viral on TikTok. Juneteenth, a day commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans in the U.S., became a federal holiday in 2021. For generations, it has held deep cultural meaning in Black communities. So when cookie cakes featuring like 'FREE @ Last,' 'June 19 FREE,' and simply 'FREE' were seen sloppily decorated and on display at a Kroger in Georgia, it didn't take long for people online to respond. A post shared by GAFOLLOWERS 🍑 (@gafollowersnews) ALSO READ| Who is Opal Lee? 'Grandmother of Juneteenth' to skip Walk for Freedom march this year 'Who the hell made these ugly-a** s***? I wish there was a manager here because ya'll decorate everything else around here cute. Everything else around here cute, but for Juneteenth you want to just throw something on a freaking cookie cake and expect someone to buy it? That's bulls***,' one TikTok user responded. 'The cakes and cookies that were featured in the video were inconsistent with our provided guidance and not of the quality we would expect to see from our stores. The products have been removed, and we've addressed this directly with the store teams and the customer who took the initial video,' a Kroger spokesperson told Newsweek. 'This is a beautiful find of just absolute laziness. Absolute laziness. To be honest, you could have did absolutely nothing and the people would have been just as fine,' @L'lori summed up in a follow-up video. "I would have taken that "free" cookie cake. Lol 😂 'y'all said it was free,' one Instagram user torched. ALSO READ| Juneteenth celebrations near me: Events in Washington DC, Maryland and Virginia on June 19 'Somebody made these right before they quit 😹,' another quipped. 'Looks like a fresh out of jail cake 😂😂,' one wrote.
The Herald Scotland
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
America in different place since NFL first embraced Juneteenth
The entire nation was still reeling from the murder of George Floyd which happened in May of 2020. His killing triggered massive nationwide protests. There were also conversations. In the streets. In homes. In workplaces. There was introspection. There was pain but also hope. There was the feeling that things could get better. Do you remember that time? Remember how much we talked about unity and care and togetherness? It was all there. That time feels so, so long ago. America looks different now. There are deepening pools of hate and xenophobia. Reversal of everything accomplished in the past five years. We've taken steps backward in ways few imagined, at a speed few knew possible. Go back to 2020. Goodell and the league saw what was happening around the country, and knew the NFL needed to change. So, in early June, Goodell announced that the league would recognize June 19, or Juneteenth, as a company holiday. "This year, as we work together as a family and in our communities to combat the racial injustices that remain deeply rooted into the fabric of our society, the NFL will observe Juneteenth on Friday, June 19th as a recognized holiday and our league offices will be closed," Goodell said in a statement then. "It is a day to reflect on our past, but more importantly, consider how each one of us can continue to show up and band together to work toward a better future." This was no small thing. It was also part of a larger push by a league to change the views from some of its players who felt the NFL was uncaring, and even hostile toward, the protests led by Colin Kaepernick that started in 2016. After Floyd was killed, the league was forced to take a more empathetic stand, and that's where observing the Juneteenth holiday came in. Juneteenth is celebrated as the end of slavery in America. The Emancipation Proclamation was established on Jan. 1, 1863, but it wasn't until two years later on June 19, following the end of the Civil War, that newly freed slaves in Texas were told of Abraham Lincoln's directive. One day after saying it would recognize Juneteenth, the NFL announced an increase in its financial backing of social justice causes to $250 million over 10 years in order to "combat systemic racism and support the battle against the ongoing and historic injustices faced by African Americans." "The power of this historical feat in our country's blemished history is felt each year, but there is no question that the magnitude of this event weighs even more heavily today in the current climate," Goodell also said in his statement. "Juneteenth not only marks the end of slavery in the United States, but it also symbolizes freedom - a freedom that was delayed, and brutally resisted; and though decades of progress followed, a freedom for which we must continue to fight." That was then. Look at the nation now. We don't need to get into all of the details but we are in a frightening place. The country that held such promising conversations following the Floyd protests? It's gone. Replaced by ugliness and fear and federal agents expanding raids to strawberry fields. There are governmental efforts to destroy anything that has to do with diversity. We are more militarized. We are more divided. And the NFL hasn't been exempt from the pressures to abandon pluralism and diversity. Four years ago, it loudly proclaimed itself DEI advocates. Now, as USA TODAY'S Jarrett Bell wrote in May, the league has stopped its coaching accelerator program, saying it will come back in some reimagined form next year. In burying the program, it looked like the league was succumbing to outside pressure. The NFL vehemently disputes this. "I realize that people are going to look at this and say, 'These people are backing off,'" Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II, chair of the NFL's diversity committee, told Bell. "That's not going to happen. There's nothing I can really do about that perception, except to say that we're still not satisfied with where we are, and we recognize that we still have work to do." Hopefully Rooney is right. Five years ago, the league embraced Juneteenth. An NFL spokesman told USA TODAY Sports it still is. The league office will be closed on the 19th, the spokesman said. It may seem odd to say that something as simple as a closed NFL office on Juneteenth is some sort of progress. But in this country? Now? Unfortunately, it is. All the NFL news on and off the field. Sign up for USA TODAY's 4th and Monday newsletter.
Time of India
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Time of India
'Too many non-working holidays': Donald Trump on Juneteenth, skips celebration; once claimed to make it 'famous'
President Donald Trump talks with reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, June 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP) US President Donald Trump honored Juneteenth in each of his first four years as president, even before it became a federal holiday. He even claimed once to have made it "very famous. ' But on this year's Juneteenth holiday on Thursday, the usually talkative president kept silent about a day important to Black Americans for marking the end of slavery in the country he leads again. Juneteenth, the holiday that marks the end of slavery in the United States, has been celebrated at the White House each June 19 since it was enshrined into law four years ago. But Thursday, it went unmarked by the president -- except for a post on social media in which he said he would get rid of some "non-working holidays." "Too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed. The workers don't want it either! Soon we'll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year. ," Trump said in mangled syntax, not mentioning Juneteenth by name nor acknowledging that Thursday was a federal holiday. "It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" The holiday commemorates the end of slavery in the US after the Civil War — specifically, the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, nearly two and a half years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, to inform enslaved African Americans there that the Civil War had ended and that all enslaved people had been freed. A few months later, the 13th Amendment was ratified, officially abolishing slavery in the remaining four border states that had not been covered by Lincoln's proclamation. and belatedly announced that enslaved people were freed. Earlier Thursday, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, told reporters during the daily briefing that she was not aware of any plans by Trump to celebrate the day or otherwise officially mark it. "I'm not tracking his signature on a proclamation today," Leavitt said of the president, who has in the past week signed proclamations commemorating Father's Day, Flag Day and National Flag Week, and the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill -- none of which are among the 11 federal holidays in United States. The lack of revelry at the White House for a holiday that has been cherished by generations of Black Americans was perhaps not a surprise. Trump, in his last term, issued statements on the anniversary of Juneteenth every year for three years, before it was ever a federal holiday. "Melania and I send our warmest greetings to all those celebrating Juneteenth, a historic day recognizing the end of slavery," he wrote in 2017, extolling Maj Gen Gordon Granger, who announced in Galveston in 1865 that "all slaves were free." In 2018 he evoked Granger again, and praised "the courage and sacrifice of the nearly 200,000 former enslaved and free African Americans who fought for liberty." Trump has previously also tried to take credit for making Juneteenth "very famous," saying during his first term in 2020 that, 'nobody had ever heard of it." His comments came while the nation was reeling from ongoing civil unrest after George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. But since returning to office he has moved to purge the federal government of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and sanitize Black history -- or even erase references to it entirely. Juneteenth is the newest US federal holiday, enshrined into law in 2021 by Congress and then-President Joe Biden. Trump cannot undo it without an act of Congress.
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump issues ominous warning to workers on Juneteenth as president claims country is wasting 'billions of dollars' on unnecessary benefit
Working-class Americans received a stark warning from President Trump as he celebrated Juneteenth by complaining about the excessive amount of federal holidays. Trump issued a directive Thursday night that declared the country is wasting too much money on closing business and said he has considered axing future celebrations. 'Too many non-working holidays in America,' he wrote on Truth Social. 'It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed. The workers don't want it either!' The president then speculated that the holiday madness could have a negative impact on the country if something isn't done. 'Soon we'll end up having a holiday for every once working day of the year,' he said. 'It must change if we are going to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!' Before this year's holiday post - which failed to mention Juneteenth - Trump spent years commemorating the day which celebrates the freedom of enslaved African Americans. He even once claimed to have made Juneteenth 'very famous.' Trump honored the holiday in each of his first four years as president, even before it became a federal holiday in 2021. But this year, Trump kept silent about the holiday other than his late Truth Social post, despite the significance of the day for black Americans. Asked whether Trump would commemorate Juneteenth in any way, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: 'I'm not tracking his signature on a proclamation today. 'I know this is a federal holiday. I want to thank all of you for showing up to work. We are certainly here. We're working 24/7 right now.' Juneteenth, also referred to as Freedom Day or Emancipation Day, commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas. Their freedom came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln liberated slaves in the Confederacy by signing the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War. In 2020, Trump sought to woo black voters with a series of campaign promises, including vowing to establish Juneteenth as a federal holiday. After he lost the election, Biden went on to sign the legislation declaring Juneteenth the newest federal holiday. He argues there are 'too many non-working holidays in America. It is costing our Country $BILLIONS OF DOLLARS to keep all of these businesses closed.' In the past week, Trump has in some way acknowledged Father's Day, Flag Day, National Flag Week and the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Bunker Hill. None of these days are among of the 11 national holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday, Presidents' Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. In 2017, Trump celebrated the 'soulful festivities and emotional rejoicing' when in 1865 a major general delivered the news to a Galveston crowd that all enslaved people were free. He told the Galveston story in each of the next three years. 'Together, we honor the unbreakable spirit and countless contributions of generations of African Americans to the story of American greatness,' he said in his 2018 statement. A year later, he said: 'Across our country, the contributions of African Americans continue to enrich every facet of American life.' His 2020 statement read: 'June reminds us of both the unimaginable injustice of slavery and the incomparable joy that must have attended emancipation. 'It is both a remembrance of a blight on our history and a celebration of our Nation's unsurpassed ability to triumph over darkness.' In 2020, however, Trump chose the controversial location of Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the place to hold a rally following the Covid pandemic. That decision for that venue met with fierce criticism. In Tulsa in 1921, a white mob looted and burned that city's Greenwood district, an economically thriving area referred to as Black Wall Street. As many as 300 Black Tulsans were killed, and thousands were temporarily held in internment camps overseen by the National Guard. Black leaders argued it was offensive for Trump to choose June 19 and Tulsa for a campaign event. Days before the rally, Trump tried to put a positive spin on the situation by claiming that he had made Juneteenth 'famous.' He said he changed the rally date out of respect for two African American friends and supporters. 'I did something good. I made it famous. I made Juneteenth very famous,' Trump said. 'It's actually an important event, it's an important time. But nobody had heard of it. Very few people have heard of it.' Generations of Black Americans celebrated Juneteenth long before it became a federal holiday in 2021. Biden issued annual Juneteenth proclamations during his four years in office, and observed some of the holidays with large concerts on the South Lawn. Biden's final observance in 2024 featured performances by Gladys Knight and Patti LaBelle. Vice President Kamala Harris danced onstage with gospel singer Kirk Franklin. Trump, menawhile, has made sweeping orders ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the federal government, calling them 'illegal and immoral discrimination programs.'
The Advertiser
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Advertiser
Trump ignores Juneteenth marking end of slavery
Donald Trump has kept silent this year about a day important to Black Americans - Juneteenth - despite marking the occasion in his first four years as US president. June 19 signifies the end of slavery in the US - commemorating the date in 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas. Their freedom came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln liberated slaves in the Confederacy by signing the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War. Asked whether Trump would commemorate Juneteenth in any way, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: "I'm not tracking his signature on a proclamation today. I know this is a federal holiday. I want to thank all of you for showing up to work. We are certainly here. We're working 24/7 right now." The Republican president's silence was a sharp contrast from his prior acknowledgement of the holiday. It also deviated from White House guidance that Trump planned to sign a Juneteenth proclamation. Trump held no public events on Thursday, but he shared statements about Iran, the TikTok app and Fed chairman Jerome Powell on his social media site. In 2017, Trump invoked the "soulful festivities and emotional rejoicing" that swept through the Galveston crowd when a major general delivered the news that all enslaved people were free. He told the Galveston story in each of the next three years. "Together, we honour the unbreakable spirit and countless contributions of generations of African Americans to the story of American greatness," he added in his 2018 statement. In 2019: "Across our country, the contributions of African Americans continue to enrich every facet of American life." In 2020: "June reminds us of both the unimaginable injustice of slavery and the incomparable joy that must have attended emancipation. It is both a remembrance of a blight on our history and a celebration of our Nation's unsurpassed ability to triumph over darkness." After suspending his campaign rallies in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump chose Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the place to resume his public gatherings and scheduled a rally for June 19. But the decision met with such fierce criticism that Trump postponed the event by a day. Black leaders had said it was offensive for Trump to choose June 19 and Tulsa for a campaign event, given the significance of Juneteenth and Tulsa being the place where, in 1921, a white mob looted and burned that city's Greenwood district, an economically thriving area referred to as Black Wall Street. As many as 300 Black Tulsans were killed, and thousands were temporarily held in internment camps overseen by the National Guard. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal days before the rally, Trump tried to put a positive spin on the situation by claiming that he had made Juneteenth "famous." "I did something good. I made it famous. I made Juneteenth very famous," Trump said. "It's actually an important event, it's an important time. But nobody had heard of it. Very few people have heard of it." Generations of Black Americans celebrated Juneteenth long before it became a federal holiday in 2021 with the stroke of President Joe Biden's pen. Shortly after being sworn in for his second term in January, Trump signed an executive order ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the federal government, calling them "illegal and immoral discrimination programs." Donald Trump has kept silent this year about a day important to Black Americans - Juneteenth - despite marking the occasion in his first four years as US president. June 19 signifies the end of slavery in the US - commemorating the date in 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas. Their freedom came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln liberated slaves in the Confederacy by signing the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War. Asked whether Trump would commemorate Juneteenth in any way, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: "I'm not tracking his signature on a proclamation today. I know this is a federal holiday. I want to thank all of you for showing up to work. We are certainly here. We're working 24/7 right now." The Republican president's silence was a sharp contrast from his prior acknowledgement of the holiday. It also deviated from White House guidance that Trump planned to sign a Juneteenth proclamation. Trump held no public events on Thursday, but he shared statements about Iran, the TikTok app and Fed chairman Jerome Powell on his social media site. In 2017, Trump invoked the "soulful festivities and emotional rejoicing" that swept through the Galveston crowd when a major general delivered the news that all enslaved people were free. He told the Galveston story in each of the next three years. "Together, we honour the unbreakable spirit and countless contributions of generations of African Americans to the story of American greatness," he added in his 2018 statement. In 2019: "Across our country, the contributions of African Americans continue to enrich every facet of American life." In 2020: "June reminds us of both the unimaginable injustice of slavery and the incomparable joy that must have attended emancipation. It is both a remembrance of a blight on our history and a celebration of our Nation's unsurpassed ability to triumph over darkness." After suspending his campaign rallies in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump chose Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the place to resume his public gatherings and scheduled a rally for June 19. But the decision met with such fierce criticism that Trump postponed the event by a day. Black leaders had said it was offensive for Trump to choose June 19 and Tulsa for a campaign event, given the significance of Juneteenth and Tulsa being the place where, in 1921, a white mob looted and burned that city's Greenwood district, an economically thriving area referred to as Black Wall Street. As many as 300 Black Tulsans were killed, and thousands were temporarily held in internment camps overseen by the National Guard. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal days before the rally, Trump tried to put a positive spin on the situation by claiming that he had made Juneteenth "famous." "I did something good. I made it famous. I made Juneteenth very famous," Trump said. "It's actually an important event, it's an important time. But nobody had heard of it. Very few people have heard of it." Generations of Black Americans celebrated Juneteenth long before it became a federal holiday in 2021 with the stroke of President Joe Biden's pen. Shortly after being sworn in for his second term in January, Trump signed an executive order ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the federal government, calling them "illegal and immoral discrimination programs." Donald Trump has kept silent this year about a day important to Black Americans - Juneteenth - despite marking the occasion in his first four years as US president. June 19 signifies the end of slavery in the US - commemorating the date in 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas. Their freedom came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln liberated slaves in the Confederacy by signing the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War. Asked whether Trump would commemorate Juneteenth in any way, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: "I'm not tracking his signature on a proclamation today. I know this is a federal holiday. I want to thank all of you for showing up to work. We are certainly here. We're working 24/7 right now." The Republican president's silence was a sharp contrast from his prior acknowledgement of the holiday. It also deviated from White House guidance that Trump planned to sign a Juneteenth proclamation. Trump held no public events on Thursday, but he shared statements about Iran, the TikTok app and Fed chairman Jerome Powell on his social media site. In 2017, Trump invoked the "soulful festivities and emotional rejoicing" that swept through the Galveston crowd when a major general delivered the news that all enslaved people were free. He told the Galveston story in each of the next three years. "Together, we honour the unbreakable spirit and countless contributions of generations of African Americans to the story of American greatness," he added in his 2018 statement. In 2019: "Across our country, the contributions of African Americans continue to enrich every facet of American life." In 2020: "June reminds us of both the unimaginable injustice of slavery and the incomparable joy that must have attended emancipation. It is both a remembrance of a blight on our history and a celebration of our Nation's unsurpassed ability to triumph over darkness." After suspending his campaign rallies in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump chose Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the place to resume his public gatherings and scheduled a rally for June 19. But the decision met with such fierce criticism that Trump postponed the event by a day. Black leaders had said it was offensive for Trump to choose June 19 and Tulsa for a campaign event, given the significance of Juneteenth and Tulsa being the place where, in 1921, a white mob looted and burned that city's Greenwood district, an economically thriving area referred to as Black Wall Street. As many as 300 Black Tulsans were killed, and thousands were temporarily held in internment camps overseen by the National Guard. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal days before the rally, Trump tried to put a positive spin on the situation by claiming that he had made Juneteenth "famous." "I did something good. I made it famous. I made Juneteenth very famous," Trump said. "It's actually an important event, it's an important time. But nobody had heard of it. Very few people have heard of it." Generations of Black Americans celebrated Juneteenth long before it became a federal holiday in 2021 with the stroke of President Joe Biden's pen. Shortly after being sworn in for his second term in January, Trump signed an executive order ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the federal government, calling them "illegal and immoral discrimination programs." Donald Trump has kept silent this year about a day important to Black Americans - Juneteenth - despite marking the occasion in his first four years as US president. June 19 signifies the end of slavery in the US - commemorating the date in 1865, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas. Their freedom came more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln liberated slaves in the Confederacy by signing the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War. Asked whether Trump would commemorate Juneteenth in any way, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters: "I'm not tracking his signature on a proclamation today. I know this is a federal holiday. I want to thank all of you for showing up to work. We are certainly here. We're working 24/7 right now." The Republican president's silence was a sharp contrast from his prior acknowledgement of the holiday. It also deviated from White House guidance that Trump planned to sign a Juneteenth proclamation. Trump held no public events on Thursday, but he shared statements about Iran, the TikTok app and Fed chairman Jerome Powell on his social media site. In 2017, Trump invoked the "soulful festivities and emotional rejoicing" that swept through the Galveston crowd when a major general delivered the news that all enslaved people were free. He told the Galveston story in each of the next three years. "Together, we honour the unbreakable spirit and countless contributions of generations of African Americans to the story of American greatness," he added in his 2018 statement. In 2019: "Across our country, the contributions of African Americans continue to enrich every facet of American life." In 2020: "June reminds us of both the unimaginable injustice of slavery and the incomparable joy that must have attended emancipation. It is both a remembrance of a blight on our history and a celebration of our Nation's unsurpassed ability to triumph over darkness." After suspending his campaign rallies in 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic, Trump chose Tulsa, Oklahoma, as the place to resume his public gatherings and scheduled a rally for June 19. But the decision met with such fierce criticism that Trump postponed the event by a day. Black leaders had said it was offensive for Trump to choose June 19 and Tulsa for a campaign event, given the significance of Juneteenth and Tulsa being the place where, in 1921, a white mob looted and burned that city's Greenwood district, an economically thriving area referred to as Black Wall Street. As many as 300 Black Tulsans were killed, and thousands were temporarily held in internment camps overseen by the National Guard. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal days before the rally, Trump tried to put a positive spin on the situation by claiming that he had made Juneteenth "famous." "I did something good. I made it famous. I made Juneteenth very famous," Trump said. "It's actually an important event, it's an important time. But nobody had heard of it. Very few people have heard of it." Generations of Black Americans celebrated Juneteenth long before it became a federal holiday in 2021 with the stroke of President Joe Biden's pen. Shortly after being sworn in for his second term in January, Trump signed an executive order ending diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives across the federal government, calling them "illegal and immoral discrimination programs."
