Trump labelled ‘an insult’ to civil rights ceremony
UNITED STATES: Democratic Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis said yesterday he won’t speak at the opening of Mississippi civil rights and history museums, saying it is an ‘‘insult’’ that US President Donald Trump will attend.
The long-planned weekend ceremony will mark Mississippi’s bicentennial of admission to the union. But what was intended as a moment of racial unity and atonement in the state with the largest share of AfricanAmericans is descending into racial and partisan strife, after Republican Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant invited fellow Republican Trump to attend.
The National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP) has said Trump should cancel attending because of his divisive record on civil rights issues.
Lewis, of Georgia, revealed his decision in a joint statement with Bennie Thompson, Mississippi’s only Democrat in Congress.
‘‘President Trump’s attendance and his hurtful policies are an insult to the people portrayed in this civil rights museum,’’ they said. ‘‘[His] disparaging comments about women, the disabled, immigrants and National Football League players disrespect the efforts of Fannie Lou Hamer, Aaron Henry, Medgar Evers, Robert Clark, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, Michael Schwerner and countless others who have given their all for Mississippi to be a better place.’’
Lewis and Thompson join other prominent Democrats in the state who have pulled out since Trump’s visit was announced. The chair of the state’s black legislative caucus, Democrat Sonya Williams Barnes, is urging people to stay away.
The White House later issued a statement calling it ‘‘unfortunate’’ that Lewis and Thompson would not join the president in honouring the ‘‘incredible sacrifice civil rights leaders made to right the injustices in our history’’. –