U.S. President Donald Trump paid tribute to Mississippi's role in the civil rights movement in Jackson, the state's capital. He spoke at the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the adjacent Museum of Mississippi History shortly after noon. It's the latest stop on the President's tour through the American south. Last night, he held a campaign rally in Pensacola, Florida.
Some black leaders -- including civil rights leader and Georgia congressman John Lewis -- boycotted Saturday's event, saying Trump has sown racial division instead of racial harmony. The national president of the NAACP, and the City of Jackson's Mayor also declined to attend. They say they can't share a stage with Trump in the state in light of what the two referred to as his "pompous disregard'' for the civil rights movement's values.
In a brief speech that remained largely on-script, Mr. Trump remarked: "The civil rights museum records the oppression, cruelty and injustice inflicted on the African-American community, the fight to bring down Jim Crow and end segregation, to gain the right to vote and to achieve the sacred birthright of equality.'' He added: "And it's big stuff. That's big stuff.''
Trump toured the museum but left before the public opening of the two museums. By that time, around 50 protesters had gathered outside the two new museums, which are dedicated to the state's history and its role in the civil rights movement. Also outside the event was Mississippi's Attorney General, the state's only statewide elected official who is not a member of Mr. Trump's Republican Party. Jim Hood declined an invitation to go inside the new museums and meet the President, instead mingling with the public outside.