President Donald Trump has issued a proclamation ostensibly meant to honor Black History Month that bizarrely argues against the very existence of Black history that is distinct from that of other Americans.
In a statement posted on the White House website, Trump, 79, framed “National Black History Month” around the upcoming 250th anniversary of American independence in July. He declared that “black history” is “not distinct from American history,” but merely “an indispensable chapter in our grand American story.”
The proclamation praised “countless black American heroes” for contributions spanning government, law, the military, culture, and the economy, before saying that those contributions are not remarkable because of skin color, so therefore shouldn’t be celebrated separately.
“America’s founding was rooted in the belief that every man, woman, and child is created equal,” the proclamation states, adding that those principles “inspired and informed the independent, bold, and pioneering American spirit.” It credits that belief in equality with driving “black American icons to help fulfill the promise of these principles.”
The document then pivots from commemoration to criticism, accusing political opponents of distorting the nation’s past. “For decades, the progressive movement and far-left politicians have sought to needlessly divide our citizens on the basis of race,” the proclamation says, alleging they have painted “a toxic and distorted and disfigured vision of our history, heritage, and heroes.”
Rather than focusing on difference, it argues, the month should celebrate shared commitment to liberty under “one beautiful American flag.”
Trump also used the proclamation to highlight plans for a new statuary park, presumably part of his wider Washington, D.C. makeover, that will include figures such as Booker T. Washington, Jackie Robinson, Aretha Franklin, Coretta Scott King, and Muhammad Ali, among others. The garden, he said, is meant to honor Black Americans while remaining part of a broader national monument.
The wording suggested that the plans for the so-called National Garden of American Heroes, “a new statuary park honoring our greatest Americans,” would not focus exclusively on Black Americans who made history.
The statement also plugged a previous executive order issued last spring aimed at promoting “excellence and innovation at Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” which Trump said would ensure “the next generation of leaders in the black community will learn from these great American examples.”
In wrapping up his proclamation, Trump appeared to slip into the same rhetoric he has used to boast of his leadership ahead of upcoming midterm elections, saying, “I am fighting every day to make our neighborhoods safer, groceries more affordable, and the American Dream more attainable for all Americans.”
