It wasn’t too long ago that many of us believed the United States, finally, was moving past its ugly and hurtful past of slavery, inequality, and injustice. But, for black Americans, the consequences of our history are still apparent, and they’re consistently amplified by the man sitting in the White House who casually throws around racist and ethnophobic tweets and comments. Because of Donald Trump’s leisurely approach to race, racism today stands tall and continues to loom over us.
Donald Trump has long dealt with issues of race.
He has never apologized for taking out ads against the so-called Central Park Five, calling for them to receive the death penalty. They were five teenagers wrongfully convicted of assaulting and raping a jogger in New York City and, even though the assailant confessed to the crime years later, Trump has only doubled down on his views.
When it came to Trump’s properties, African-American tenants found they would get the short end of the stick, refused service and discriminated against. This mindset started with Fred Trump, Donald’s father, who taught it to his son and showed him how their business ran.
After the Charlottesville Unite the Right Rally held by white supremacists and Neo-Nazis, Donald Trump refused to criticize and disavow them, even though a young woman was murdered after a car rammed through a group of people. Her name was Heather Heyer.
More recently, Donald Trump went on a tirade against four Democratic Congresswomen of color, asking “Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” They’re all American citizens, one of them naturalized and the others having been born in the United States. Trump’s assumption is obvious, and the racism is evident.
….and viciously telling the people of the United States, the greatest and most powerful Nation on earth, how our government is to be run. Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came. Then come back and show us how….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 14, 2019
Donald Trump only brings the nation down, and he will continue to so long as members of his party by and let him get away with his words and actions. Trump denigrates the office of the Presidency, sullies the reputation of the United States, and compromises the safety and security of Americans in the world. While the United States has had a history that we’d all rather forget about, we can’t. We have to learn from our mistakes, and we have to ensure that people like Trump no longer represent us, because we are better than this.
Racists and white supremacists should never be allowed to feel empowered, and rejecting Donald Trump would help to reject the ideas he encourages and excuses.
Patrick Holman is the founder and managing editor of Salt Lake Film Review. As an avid film viewer, he created SLFR in order to create a place for discussion and to explore the qualities of movies. When he isn’t watching a movie, or writing about them, Patrick works as an OST professional in Salt Lake County, Utah.