Trump Speech Signals More Disappointment For African Americans

Even before President Trump made it to the podium to deliver his first State of the Union address, African-American legislators signaled that they held little hope that his message would deliver good news to them or their constituencies. Some, like Democratic Congressmen John Lewis (D-Ga.) and Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) refused to attend.  Meanwhile, other members of the Congressional Black Caucus who were present wore black and kente cloth to signal their disapproval of Trump’s comments on African nations he called “shitholes” earlier this month. Members’ antagonism was pronounced following Trump’s remarks on black unemployment numbers, saying they were the lowest on record. It didn’t sit well with representatives like Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.), who felt the president was not telling the whole story of those figures. “He was saying some of the right things, but his policies don’t align with them,” Lawrence said. “It’s not what you say, it’s what you do and what your policies are.”