Press Releases

Today, Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) and members of the Congressional Black Caucus issued the following statement:

“Yesterday, President Trump signed an executive order that aims to restrict funding for programs within the Smithsonian Institution that the administration is falsely accusing of promoting "divisive narratives" and "improper ideology."

“There is nothing divisive or improper about telling the truth. We detest this administration’s dedication to whitewashing our nation’s history. Donald Trump’s idea that the National Museum of African American History and Culture is guilty of distorting our nation’s history or painting our "founding principles" in a "negative light” is patently ridiculous.

“It is the Trump Administration that takes to the White House podium on a daily basis to lie and obfuscate the truth. It is the Trump Administration that has broken with a century of tradition in allowing an independently selected press corps to cover the daily activities of the administration. It is the Trump Administration that bans books, words, and phrases that do not fit their narrative. It is the Trump Administration that wants to erase and retell our history.

“Let’s be clear, Black history is American history. Any rhetoric that opposes this notion is not only factually incorrect but blatantly racist. We will not stand for anything aside from the truth.

“President Trump, like any aspirational dictator, wants us to believe what he says and not what we can see with our own two eyes. We do not run from or erase our history simply because we don’t like it. We embrace the history of our country – the good, the bad, and the ugly.”