Saturday, December 9, 2017

Trump’s Visit to Mississippi Civil Rights Museum Underscores National Tension

The opening of the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum promised to be a celebratory event long in the making. Civil rights icon John Lewis, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba, Rep. Bennie Thompson and Myrlie Evers-Williams — widow of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers — were slated to attend and commemorate a milestone for a state that has long been haunted by its difficult racial history.

Then this week, just days before Saturday’s opening, President Donald Trump accepted an invitation from the state’s governor to attend.

By Friday, Lewis, Thompson, Lumumba and many other noteworthy Mississippians and civil rights heroes all said they would boycott the event.

They claimed the president did not support the spirit of the new institution and would only distract from the ceremony. Instead, some said they would visit the museum another time, rather than share the moment with a man they consider to be a divisive figure. 

Click here for the full article.

Source: NBC News  

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