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This is VOA News. Via remote, I'm Marissa Melton. Hundreds of people have gathered in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for an interfaith service dedicating a prayer wall outside historic Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church. Monday's event comes on the centennial of the start of one of the deadliest racist massacres in the nation. Civil rights leaders, including the Revs. Jesse Jackson, joined multiple local faith leaders offering prayers and remarks outside the church. The building was under construction and largely destroyed in 1921, when a mob of white people descended on the prosperous Black neighborhood, burning, killing, looting and leveling a 35-square-block area. The Oklahoma Bureau of Vital Statistics officially recorded 36 deaths, but a 2001 state commission reexamined the events and confirmed the actual death toll was between 75 and 300.
U.S. President Joe Biden remembered those who died serving in the military on Monday as the United States celebrated Memorial Day. In remarks at Arlington National Cemetery, Biden said democracy itself is in peril. He said the way Americans honor the memory of fallen soldiers will determine how long democracy will endure. He said empathy is the fuel of democracy. He added that Americans willingness to see each other as neighbors and not enemies will help sustain the nation and its ideals. He also noted that the United States military is diverse and called for inclusivity and American culture to continue to grow.
Several hundred people in New Zealand have been evacuated from their homes - some by helicopter - after heavy rain caused widespread flooding in the Canterbury region. Authorities have declared a state of emergency and forecasters have warned of more possible heavy rain before conditions improve. This is VOA News.
