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- Hundreds of Black gun owners are expected to protest in Tulsa, Oklahoma this weekend, VICE News reported.
- Their goal to educate the Black community about gun rights and th Tulsa Race Massacre.
- The demonstration comes amid the 100th anniversary of the massacre where hundreds of Black people were killed by a white mob.
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Black gun owners plan to march in Oklahoma Saturday to advocate for gun ownership and in honor of the Tulsa Race Massacre.
As VICE News reported, hundreds of members from Huey P. Newton Gun Club, Anubis Arms Gun Club, and the Panther Special Operations Command as well other organizations from across the country are expected to participate in the protest.
"Our hope is to try to galvanize a community, educate around the position of Second Amendment rights, and hopefully be a vehicle to more or less unify the African American community," co-founder of the Newton Gun Club in Dallas, Texas, Yafeuh Balogun, said to VICE News.
Balogun told VICE News that the protest in Oklahoma will be one the biggest events of Black pro-gun rights advocates in years.
"We want to be part of history. We want the generations, the younger kids to understand the timeframe and the importance of recognizing the people that came before them and the sacrifices that they made," Balogun added.
Read more: The "concerted effort" in the US to cover up the Tulsa Race Massacre
According to the Huey P. Newton's Gun Club website, the organization is made up of a coalition of different groups with a main objective to educate the youth. Their mission "is to educate the masses of people on the necessity of self. That includes self-preservation, self-defense, and self-sufficiency through militant culture. Safety, caution, and attention to detail are at the core of our way of life."
The groups in attendance also aim to draw attention to the Tulsa Race Massacre, a race riot that occurred 100 years ago this year. Commemoration events are underway, and the US Department of Homeland Security warned that white supremacist groups might target the events. In addition, the groups also hope to inform the Black community about how to act during a police interaction, the report said.
Balogun told Vice that the groups credit themselves in part for the spike in gun sales from Black people. As firearm sales boomed in 2020, purchases from Black people also spiked amid the COVID-19 pandemic and racial reckoning in the US.