Monday was the 110th national NAACP convention. This year it was held in Detroit, Michigan where there was an undercurrent of action. The Democrats stood upon the stage and vowed to fight Donald Trump and all of his minions. They urged others to action, and this is how it unfolded.
According to The Detroit Free Press, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi quoted Rosa Parks who said:
‘I’m tired of giving in. We, too, must be tired of giving in. We, too, must continue to stand for fairness and genuine equality.’
Four freshmen congresswomen have drawn attention to their enthusiasm, progressive ideas, and intelligence. They call themselves “The Squad.” All of the women are citizens of the United States. Ilhan Omar’s family did flee from war-torn Somalia when she was a child and came to the U.S. as legal refugees. The four women of color are, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
Last week Trump began a real race to the bottom of what is acceptable with a tweet about these four congresswomen. He said:
‘(They) originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world … Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.’
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said “we stand up to bullies. This is a critical moment:”
“Let’s be clear today, President Trump is a bully and we stand up to bullies. This is a critical moment in our history, the leadership of NAACP is needed as we see the poison of racism. Donald Trump has given permission to people who used to stand in sheets in the middle of night to stand in the light in front of the microphones. This is wrong.’
U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-MI), is a member of the self-described “The Squad.” She has been the focus of Trump’s racist tweets and one of the two first Muslim women elected to Congress. When she began speaking, the audience gave her a standing ovation. She said that she was:
‘…not going nowhere, not until I impeach this president.’
Tlaib did not mention Donald Trump by name:
‘We need bold action, folks. I know what’s happening out there … it’s beyond just the four of us. The squad is all of you. I can tell you, you are all the squad, trust me. If you support equity, you support justice, you are one of us.’
The congresswoman was one of the first members of Congress to call for Trump’s impeachment, telling the audience:
‘…we’re gonna go in there and we’re going to impeach the motherf—er” shortly after she was sworn in to Congress in 2019.’
Trump was on an ugly roll. He attacked The Squad who was clearly quite the opposite of his insult:
‘(He called them a) very Racist group of troublemakers who are young, inexperienced, and not very smart.’
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said that The Squad went well beyond these four congresswomen of color. She also said that “The Squad” is not just the four progressive congresswomen:
‘It’s beyond just the four of us. You are all the squad, trust me.’
She also said today is no time to be complacent:
“Let’s be clear today, President Trump is a bully and we stand up to bullies. This is a critical moment in our history, the leadership of NAACP is needed as we see the poison of racism. Donald Trump has given permission to people who used to stand in sheets in the middle of night to stand in the light in front of the microphones. This is wrong.’
U.S. Representative Brenda Lawrence (D-MI) talked about the upcoming 2020 election:
‘If you can’t believe what’s happening and you’re tired of all the attacks and you feel like there’s a cloud over America, black people, we can change all of that. Our mission: we cannot have a black person sit at home on election day because we know that we fight with our vote.’
Speaker Pelosi commented:
“The times have found all of us to make the difference that our country is crying out for now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off … Today, the times have found us to achieve a future full of justice, worthy of our founders.’
Stabenow played upon Trump’s words, making a comment about former Secretary of Education DeVos:
‘I really wish she wasn’t from Michigan, I think we should send her back.’
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