Trump draws protests while honoring civil rights heroes
JACKSON, Miss. — President Donald Trump has honored figures of the civil rights movement, some famous, some not, at a ceremony that exposed stark divisions among Americans about his commitment to that legacy.
Trump on Saturday toured the new Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the adjacent Museum of Mississippi, both in Jackson. Outside, demonstrators protested his presence, some holding signs that said “Make America Civil Again” and “Lock Him Up” and others shouting “No Trump, no hate, no KKK in the USA.” During the opening ceremony, about 25 people stood silently with Confederate battle flag stickers covering their mouths.
Trump spent about 30 minutes at the museums, gave a 10-minute speech to select guests inside and flew back to his Florida estate, skipping the dedication ceremony held outside on a chilly Mississippi flag demonstrators stand along a ledge at the Energy Plaza where the state’s bicentennial celebration and the grand opening ceremony for the two museums, the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, was held, Saturday in Jackson, Miss. day. He spent more time getting to Jackson than he did on the ground.
In a deliberate voice and rarely diverting from his prepared words, the president sought to honor the famous and the anonymous for their efforts on behalf of freedom and equality. He did not acknowledge the anger his participation had sparked leading up to the dedication.
“The civil rights museum records the oppression, cruelty and injustice inflicted on the African-american community, the fight to bring down Jim Crow and end segregation, to gain the right to vote and to achieve the sacred birthright of equality,” he said. “And it’s big stuff. That’s big stuff.”
Trump has been accused of harboring racial animosity, and critics cite his blaming of “both sides” for deadly violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the summer. Trump has also relentlessly criticized NFL players for kneeling during the national anthem to protest racism and police brutality largely directed at African-american males.
Trump opened his presidential campaign by branding Mexicans as rapists and criminals, and while campaigning called for a “complete and total shutdown” of Muslims entering the U.S. after a deadly gun attack in San Bernardino, California.
The national president of the NAACP and the mayor of Mississippi’s capital city said they kept their distance from Trump because of his “pompous disregard” for the values embodied by the civil rights movement.
Derrick Johnson, head of the nation’s oldest civil rights organization, and Mayor Chokwe Lumumba said at a news conference Saturday that they looked forward to a “grander opening” of the museum that they can attend.