Chokwe Antar Lumumba, Jackson, Miss.โs revolutionary mayor, will not be sharing the stage with President Donald Trump at the grand opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum this Saturday, the Clarion Ledger reports.
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โI believe that Trumpโs presence is a distraction. His policies donโt reflect his statements that this is a movement that will bring people together. Trump has not demonstrated a continuing dedication to the ideals the civil rights movement upholds,โ Lumumba told the Clarion Ledger.
Trump will no longer be speaking at the museum openingโsince the announcement that he would was met with justifiable rage and disgustโbut he will still be in attendance.
To add further insult to injury, Lumumba learned that he would also not have the opportunity to speak at the historic event.
โI had some words that I wanted to say,โ Lumumba said, โbut when I found out that I wasnโt going to have the opportunity to speak, I decided that I didnโt want to share the stage with Trump.โ
Instead, Lumumba will hold a press conference with U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and NAACP President Derrick Johnson. The conference will take place at the same time as the museum opening.
U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), an icon of the civil rights movement, will also not be in attendance because of Trumpโs toxic presence.
โPresident Trumpโs attendance and his hurtful policies are an insult to the people portrayed in this civil rights museum,โ Thompson and Lewis said in a joint statement.
Myrlie Evers-Williams, revered scholar, author, activist and widow of assassinated civil rights leader Medgar Evers, will be in attendance, and she may have a few words for Trump.
โIf God gives me the breath and the strength, I will address his attendance when I stand to speak,โ Evers-Williams told the New York Times.
The rifle that white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith used to assassinate Evers on June 12, 1963, will be on display at the museum.
There are people who believe that Trumpโs job title means that it would be more disrespectful for him not to attend the museum opening; Lumumba is not one of those people, calling Trumpโs presence โill-consideredโ in light of his demonstrably racist, anti-black administration.
โI think that if President Trump is sincere about recognition of civil rightsโthough one could imagine that being at a museum could demonstrate thatโthe policies you implement each and every day, your continuing commitment to advancing civil rights, is a greater salute to a sincere effort to support a civil rights movement,โ Lumumba said on CNN. โAnd I think he fails to accomplish that on a consistent basis.โ
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