President Trump on Saturday paid tribute to the participants of the civil rights movement and said the nation today strives “to be worthy of their sacrifice.”
Speaking at the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in Jackson, Miss., the president honored civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Medgar Evers, and James Meredith, and praised those who helped make the new museum possible.
“These museums are labor of love — love for Mississippi, love for your nation, love for God-given dignity written into every human soul,” the president said. “These buildings embody the hope that has lived in the hearts of every American for generations, the hope in a future that is more just and more free.”
In his remarks, the president not only spoke to the sacrifices members of civil rights movement made, but also signaled a recognition of the price they made to achieve equality.
“The Civil Rights Museum records the oppression, cruelty and injustice inflicted on the African-American community, the fight to end slavery, to break down Jim Crow, to end segregation, to gain the right to vote, and to achieve the sacred birthright of equality,” Trump said. “That is big stuff, that is big stuff. Those are very big phrases, very big words.”
Speaking of the present and the future, Trump spoke of the desire for children to grow up “free from fear,” and said the nation will devote itself to honoring the legacies of those who fought for equality.
“Today, we strive to be worthy of their sacrifice. We pray for inspiration from their example. We want our country to be a place where every child from every background can grow up free from fear, innocent of hatred, and surrounded by love, opportunity, and hope,” he said. “Today, we pay solemn tribute to our heroes of the past and dedicate ourselves to building a future of freedom, equality, justice, and peace.”
Trump specifically addressed Charles Evers, the brother of Medgar Evers, who he said he “liked a lot,” and Myrlie Evers, the wife of Medgar Evers, both of whom were in attendance. The president said the two have carried on Medgar Evers’ legacy in the years after his murder in 1963.
The president’s appearance at the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum garnered controversy, particularly in the wake of his remarks after white nationalist groups clashed with counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Va., in August, in which he said there were “very fine people on both sides.”
Reps. John Lewis, D-Ga., a civil rights icon himself, and Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., decided not to attend the event and called the president’s attendance an “insult” to the civil rights movement.
Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba also declined to attend.
Protesters gathered outside the new museum in Jackson to oppose Trump’s attendance.
