The head of the NAACP and two black congressmen, including John Lewis, a leader in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, said they will not be present at Saturday's opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum because President Donald Trump will be there.
NAACP president Derrick Johnson announced in a press release that rather than attend the museum's opening in Jackson, he will unite with local leaders to hold a "separate event" at the Smith Robertson Museum in the capital city to "pay homage to those who have dedicated their lives to the civil rights of Mississippians, without the presence of President Donald Trump."
“We take this stand out of respect for our heroes and ancestors who, often at the cost of their lives, paved the way for the ending of segregation and racial discrimination in Mississippi,” Johnson said in a statement Saturday. “We honor that legacy by speaking truth to power and calling out this administration’s divisive policies and its pullback from civil rights enforcement.”
Lewis, a Democratic congressman from Georgia, and Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., released a joint statement Thursday announcing their decision to skip Saturday's museum's opening, also citing Trump's attendance as a reason for their absence.
“After careful consideration and conversations with church leaders, elected officials, civil rights activists, and many citizens of our congressional districts, we have decided not to attend or participate in the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum," the congressmen said in the statement.
“President Trump’s attendance and his hurtful policies are an insult to the people portrayed in this civil rights museum. The struggles represented in this museum exemplify the truth of what really happened in Mississippi. President Trump’s 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."
“After President Trump departs, we encourage all Mississippians and Americans to visit this historic civil rights museum," the congressmen added.
from ABC News: Politics http://ift.tt/2iHXvCh
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