Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0696

HR0696 LRB104 21009 ECR 34895 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, February 2026 marks the 100th year that Americans have set aside time in February to honor Black history; and

WHEREAS, Rather than acknowledging the challenges and celebrating the accomplishments that define Black history in America, President Donald J. Trump has disgracefully chosen this time of year to advance an agenda that embraces a return to the ugliest moments of our past; and

WHEREAS, Late in the evening on February 5, 2026, President Trump's personal social media account shared an AI-generated video using blatantly racist caricatures of former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama; and

WHEREAS, President Trump's post was widely condemned, with Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, calling it "the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House"; and

WHEREAS, President Trump sent his spokesperson to lecture Black Americans on why the post rooted in imagery that is universally accepted as racist was actually some kind of joke; and

WHEREAS, President Trump finally deleted the post, while refusing to apologize; and

WHEREAS, President Trump's bigoted agenda has reached far beyond his manufactured social media echo chamber; students at Florida A&M University were told that President Trump's prohibition on any effort to promote "diversity, equity, and inclusion" meant that Black History Month recognitions could not include the word "Black"; and

WHEREAS, This month, the Trump administration also announced that it will use taxpayer funds to fight in court for the removal of recognizing the enslaved people held in the first presidential mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and

WHEREAS, Further, the Trump administration has replaced pamphlets at the national landmark honoring slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers with new ones that no longer refer to the Ku Klux Klan member who murdered Evers as a racist; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we condemn President Donald J. Trump's racist social media post and his attempts to erase history; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we will continue to honor the 100th recognition of Black History Month in the State of Illinois by committing to learn from history rather than hiding from it.