Obama, Not Trump, Ripped Racism Bandage Off America
America couldn’t handle a Black president
I was commenting the other day to a group of friends that the worst thing Trump did was give renewed voice to the most rabid racists in America.
Before Trump, I argued, vocal racists were out there, but they didn’t feel safe spewing their hatred in public, in political speeches and on every imaginable digital street corner.
Now we’ve got someone running again who the American Nazi Party and the KKK openly endorse.
One Republican in the group started fidgeting with discomfort after my statement. He’s one of those “I don’t like Trump’s rhetoric or style, but he gets things done” supporters.
But a Black friend in the group chimed in with a different perspective, which I found profound.
“Trump didn’t rip the racism bandage off. Obama did.”
My friend Donte wasn’t claiming that Obama gave the stamp of approval to racists like Trump did and continues to do. Obama never invited a white supremacist to dinner at a fancy club.
Donte was merely pointing out that when a Black man became president, every imaginable racist under the sun came out to play.
