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Juneteenth represents Black liberation. It’s a commemoration of the day the shackles of slavery in Texas were finally broken. But today’s Juneteenth celebration takes place during a difficult time under a president who has hindered and suppressed the movement for racial justice.
From invoking confederate imagery to fanning the flames of racial tension, Trump has a proven track record of failing the Black community. The Trump administration has made it abundantly clear that Trump’s America doesn’t care about Black Americans:
Trump has failed to respond to the disproportionate impact of #COVID19 on Black Americans, which has caused coronavirus deaths among this community to reach nearly two times more than would be expected based on their share of the population.
His mishandling of the Paycheck Protection Program threatens to shutter thousands of Black businesses because Black small business owners have struggled to access emergency loans. https://nbcnews.to/2Y8tgKd
Under the Obama-Biden administration, the ACA helped reduce the uninsurance rate for Black Americans by 9 percentage points. But Trump has jeopardized these significant gains by threatening to repeal the ACA and take away protections from those with preexisting conditions.
Trump turned his back on Black Americans & refused to acknowledge the epidemic of systemic racism & police violence. He proclaimed himself an ally of peaceful protestors, then used tear gas on them & signed a toothless executive order that failed to address racism in policing.
The administration essentially shuttered a DOJ office dedicated to making legal aid accessible to all citizens, despite the strong objections of civil rights groups who saw the office as a game changer in protecting civil rights. https://nyti.ms/3hIg32E
Trump’s former AG Jeff Sessions, imposed an aggressive charging and sentencing policy that disproportionately affects minority communities and low-level offenders with stiff sentences.
The people who benefit most from Trump’s criminal justice policies are his big dollar donors who run private prison companies. Trump scrapped Obama’s plan to reduce the use of private prisons, and the industry has boomed under Trump despite being plagued by higher assault rates.
In Trump’s inaugural address, he engaged in fear mongering, describing Black communities as being gutted by crime even though crime rates were at their lowest in decades. https://nyti.ms/2YDpFTm
Despite undeniable evidence that Black students receive harsher punishment than their white classmates for similar or lesser offenses, the Trump administration chose to revoke efforts to reduce racial bias in school discipline.
The Trump administration turned another blind eye to the reality of systemic racism when it chose to reverse affirmative action guidelines. It chose to ignore our nation’s original sin and turn its back on diversity and inclusion.
