JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The Latest on opposition to President Donald Trump attending the opening of a civil rights museum in Mississippi (all times local):
1 p.m.
Officials who refuse to attend the opening of twin history and civil rights museums in Mississippi with President Donald Trump are planning their own event.
Congressman Bennie Thompson, National NAACP President Derrick Johnson, Jackson Mayor Chokwe Lumumba and some who participated in the civil rights movement in Mississippi say they want to address the “contradiction” of Trump’s attendance at the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. They plan to gather Saturday at a local black history museum in Jackson before Trump arrives.
Many in Mississippi’s African-American community say Trump’s policies are incompatible with honoring the African-American freedom struggle. Congressman John Lewis, a Georgia Democrat and civil rights icon, pulled out of a planned speech Thursday.
Republican Gov. Phil Bryant urges Mississippians to embrace the visit. Some African-Americans, although opposed to Trump, say they’ll attend.
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4:30 a.m.
Many in Mississippi’s African-American community had waited decades for a civil rights museum. But with President Donald Trump coming to the museum’s opening Saturday, some will skip the eagerly anticipated opening. They say Trump’s policies are incompatible with honoring the African-American freedom struggle.
That movement was punctuated Thursday by civil rights icon and Democratic congressman John Lewis saying he wouldn’t speak at the opening ceremony, calling Trump’s presence an “insult.” U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, Mississippi’s only Democrat in Congress, jointly announced his exit with Lewis.
Republican Gov. Phil Bryant urges Mississippians to embrace the visit. Some African Americans, although opposed to Trump, say they’ll attend.
The White House says Trump hopes others will join him in recognizing “that the movement was about removing barriers and unifying Americans of all backgrounds.”
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