President Donald Trump paid tribute today to the leaders and foot soldiers of the civil rights movement whose sacrifices help make the United States a fairer and more just country, though protests surrounding his visit to Mississippi laid bare the stark divisions among Americans about his commitment to that legacy.
As Trump gazed at an exhibit on Freedom Riders at the new Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, demonstrators near the site held up signs that said "Make America Civil Again" and "Lock Him Up." Some shouted "No Trump, no hate, no KKK in the USA."
Trump spent about 30 minutes at the museums, gave a 10- minute speech to select guests inside and then flew back to his Florida estate, skipping the public schedule of the dedication ceremony held outside on a chilly day.
He spent more time getting to Jackson than he did on the ground.
Trump's remarks steered clear of addressing the anger that his participation had sparked leading up to the dedication. In a deliberate voice and rarely diverting from his prepared words, the president sought to honor the famous and the anonymous for their efforts on behalf of freedom for all.
"The civil rights museum records the oppression, cruelty and injustice inflicted on the African-American community, the fight to bring down Jim Crow and end segregation, to gain the right to vote and to achieve the sacred birthright of equality. And it's big stuff. That's big stuff," he said.
"Those are very big phrases, very big words. Here we memorialize the brave men and women who struggled to sacrifice and sacrifice so much so that others might live in freedom," he said.
The national president of the NAACP and the mayor of Mississippi's capital city said they kept their distance from Trump because of his "pompous disregard" for the values embodied by the civil rights movement.
Derrick Johnson, head of the nation's oldest civil rights organization, and Mayor Chokwe Lumumba said at a news conference that they looked forward to a "grander opening" of the museum that they can attend.
Johnson, a Mississippian, charged that Trump opposes labor rights, education, health care and voting rights for all Americans.
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