President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, along with Vice President Mike Pence, celebrated Black History Month at the White House yesterday by hosting a reception with the theme of “African-Americans in Times of War.” Several Cabinet secretaries attended, along with Liberty Counsel’s Director of public Policy Jonathan Alexandre.
The president saluted black Americans, who have served in the military since the Revolution, for giving “their hearts, their sweat, their blood and their very lives to defend the United States, its flag and its highest ideals.” He said they helped defend for all Americans the dream of a colorblind society that inspired such civil rights pioneers as Frederick Douglass, Harriett Tubman, Booker T. Washington, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.
Trump said, “This vision of freedom, equality and dignity lives in the heart of every American patriot and, just like so many African Americans throughout our history who have struggled and sacrificed for freedom, we must do our part to make that vision real for every single American. As long as we have faith in our citizens, confidence in our values and trust in God, we will not fail.”
In addition, the Coalition of African-American Pastors (CAAP) held a press conference on Monday criticizing the Congressional Black Caucus Democrats (CBC) who sat during this year’s State of the Union Address. The CBC sat when President Trump shared the news of the black unemployment rate hitting an all-time record low of 6.8 percent in December 2017, down from 16.8 percent in March 2010. The new rate is projected to drop even more because of the massive tax cut and reform initiative recently signed by the president.
During Monday’s press conference, Jonathan Alexandre criticized a year “of angry faces and sassy soundbites” that has run its course. Instead, he emphasized there is a generation of leaders who aren’t afraid to take a stand.
“I’m here to say there is a new move in our community and a unique moment in our nation,” Alexandre said. “We understand this moment to be just what we’ve needed, just what we’ve been waiting for. A moment when an individual and not government decides what to do with their paycheck. … That’s the moment we are living in. But the Congressional Black Caucus chooses to sit it out. It’s a posture of negligence.
“How can we be strong sitting down when for so long we’ve been fighting diligently for the right to be counted? … A generation of black leadership who is excited to continue to work with President Trump’s administration to see these numbers finally working in our favor. Congressional Black Caucus, sit if you may, but I’ll take a stand. Because we are on the move.”
For the original article, visit lc.org.
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