President Trump is not just eradicating DI initiatives and trying to rewrite history to eliminate the contributions of Black Americans. He is also attacking Black art. One question: why are Black celebrities so quiet?
In previous administrations, our Commander in Chief would take a hands-off approach to arts funding and cultural celebrations. Let’s look at the Kenndy Center for an example.
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In December, you would find the President at the Kennedy Center Honors celebrating American artists who have impacted the country. Yet, the leader of the free world is too busy with other things to weigh in much when it comes to selecting the artists that center will honor in any given year. President Trump is taking a different approach. In February, he took control of the Kennedy Center board, promising to make it “GREAT AGAIN.” (Whatever that means.)
This is illustrative of what he is trying to do to the country writ large. He wants to eliminate what he calls “improper ideology” at the Smithsonian and is trying to control which cultural pursuits the government financially supports. These are both poorly hidden attempts to attack Black culture. He wants to control what Black art is made and who is making it. He wants to only support artists that support his world view. The rest can kick rocks.
Amid all these attacks on Black culture and Black art, one question keeps coming back up and it’s the one asked earlier. Where are the Black celebrities? Why are they not pushing back? This is not an unreasonable question to ask.
Black celebrities have a long and storied history of pushing back against white people and politicians that they feel harm our community. There was the Cleveland Summit where Jim Brown organized a meeting of 12 prominent Black athletes (Kareem, Bill Russel and others) to support Muhammad Ali’s refusal to fight in the Vietnam War and raise awareness that it was our people dying at disproportionate rates in that war. Then there was the time Beyonce personally wrote a letter to the Kentucky Attorney General expressing her anger with how the Breonna Taylor case was handled. And who can forget, despite what he has done since then, the time Kanye West once said with his whole chest “George Bush doesn’t care about Black people” on national television.
These are the kinds of things our celebrities have done for us. They have always spoken up when we needed them most. That was part of the deal. We support and defend them viciously, and they use their fame to fight for the Black community.
For some reason, they are quiet now. There is no full-throated opposition to the Trump Administration’s attacks on Black history and art.
Maybe it is time we call it what it is. Despite their fame and fortune, Black celebrities have been scared into silence by President Donald J. Trump.
Straight From 
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