|
| | HR0696 | | LRB104 21009 ECR 34895 r |
|
|
| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
|
| 2 | | WHEREAS, February 2026 marks the 100th year that Americans |
| 3 | | have set aside time in February to honor Black history; and
|
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Rather than acknowledging the challenges and |
| 5 | | celebrating the accomplishments that define Black history in |
| 6 | | America, President Donald J. Trump has disgracefully chosen |
| 7 | | this time of year to advance an agenda that embraces a return |
| 8 | | to the ugliest moments of our past; and
|
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Late in the evening on February 5, 2026, |
| 10 | | President Trump's personal social media account shared an |
| 11 | | AI-generated video using blatantly racist caricatures of |
| 12 | | former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama; |
| 13 | | and
|
| 14 | | WHEREAS, President Trump's post was widely condemned, with |
| 15 | | Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, calling it |
| 16 | | "the most racist thing I've seen out of this White House"; and
|
| 17 | | WHEREAS, President Trump sent his spokesperson to lecture |
| 18 | | Black Americans on why the post rooted in imagery that is |
| 19 | | universally accepted as racist was actually some kind of joke; |
| 20 | | and
|
|
| | HR0696 | - 2 - | LRB104 21009 ECR 34895 r |
|
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, President Trump finally deleted the post, while |
| 2 | | refusing to apologize; and
|
| 3 | | WHEREAS, President Trump's bigoted agenda has reached far |
| 4 | | beyond his manufactured social media echo chamber; students at |
| 5 | | Florida A&M University were told that President Trump's |
| 6 | | prohibition on any effort to promote "diversity, equity, and |
| 7 | | inclusion" meant that Black History Month recognitions could |
| 8 | | not include the word "Black"; and
|
| 9 | | WHEREAS, This month, the Trump administration also |
| 10 | | announced that it will use taxpayer funds to fight in court for |
| 11 | | the removal of recognizing the enslaved people held in the |
| 12 | | first presidential mansion in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and
|
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Further, the Trump administration has replaced |
| 14 | | pamphlets at the national landmark honoring slain civil rights |
| 15 | | leader Medgar Evers with new ones that no longer refer to the |
| 16 | | Ku Klux Klan member who murdered Evers as a racist; therefore, |
| 17 | | be it
|
| 18 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE |
| 19 | | HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |
| 20 | | we condemn President Donald J. Trump's racist social media |
| 21 | | post and his attempts to erase history; and be it further
|