Congressman’s son wants a national campaign against Trump attacks on Black women | Opinion
From the Sunday morning pulpit on Mother’s Day at St. James United Methodist Church, one of the most respected and better-known churches in Kansas City, the Rev. Emanuel Cleaver III, put out a call to action for all men in town.
“Join me next Sunday after worship at 11 a.m.,” the church’s senior pastor said. “This will only be in person. It will not be recorded because the revolution will not be televised.”
Cleaver said that on a day set aside to celebrate women and mothers, he was extremely bothered “because there is this dude in the White House who continues to disrespect Black women, and I think it is time for Black men to do something about it.
“I think it is time for Black men to make a stand, because Black women are under attack.”
And he’s not wrong about the attack part. However, I just want to say that as a Black professional woman myself, the Black women who Cleaver points out are being attacked by President Donald Trump are not made of gossamer, and they can definitely hold their own.
Trump knows that. The problem for him is that he can’t hold his own. It’s why anyone would resort to name-calling in the middle of what should be an intellectual discourse — a simple question-and-answer moment. People unable to compete in conversation at a high level tend to deflect with childish retorts, the likes of what we often hear from the nation’s president. “You’re stupid,” or “You’re ugly,” rather than answer a question.
It is also what the world sees from America’s leader. Not so great. It doesn’t make the president look strong. It makes him look weak.
Often, Trump has targeted Black journalists and politicians — obviously, smart, professional women — such as ABC News correspondent Rachel Scott.
Scott asked Trump why against the backdrop of the Iran war, where people are dying, he would prioritize painting the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool an odd shade of blue. Trump went on a tirade about how filthy the pool and the area around it are. He called Scott a “horror show,” said her question was “stupid,” and said, “You probably don’t see dirt. But I do.”
Trump called former Vice President Kamala Harris “stupid” and “a loser,” and he called New York Attorney General Letitia James “scum.”
He forcefully told White House correspondent April Ryan to “sit down,” when she stood during a press conference. He has called her “nasty” and a “loser.”
Trump lashed out at CNN anchor Abby Phillip after she asked a question about his being investigated by former FBI Director Robert Mueller. He called her question stupid and said, “But I watch you a lot, and you ask a lot of stupid questions.”
Trump has verbally attacked Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters of California several times, once calling her a “seriously low IQ person.” And Waters, known to take no mess from anyone, has in turn frequently described Trump as a “low-down, dirty, no good, filthy president.”
Obviously, these women are the opposite of what Trump says. They are smart, professional and composed. And from my perspective, it’s their brilliance that irritates the president most. They should probably wear his name-calling as a badge of honor.
That’s not to say a callout for men — everyone, for that matter — to stand against this type of treatment from Trump toward women isn’t needed.
‘Hostility simply for holding power accountable’
Recently, the National Association of Black Journalists put out a statement on social media in support of Black women journalists.
“NABJ stands firmly with ABC News Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott and all Black women journalists who continue to face hostility simply for holding power accountable and reporting the truth,” it read. “A free press is a pillar of democracy, not a privilege granted by those in power. When Black women journalists are insulted or singled out for doing their jobs, it is bigger than one moment or one person. It is an attack on the role of journalism itself.”
Standing against the lack of civility that has become so common in the current administration is the right thing to do, and it’s why I love the idea of Cleaver’s callout.
He told me he expects men from all over the Kansas City area to show up at St. James United Methodist Church, 5540 Wayne Ave., on Sunday. He plans to discuss starting from Kansas City and launching a national “No more disrespect” campaign. “I hope to get men all over the country to sign up,” Cleaver said.
And that’s not all. It’s a two-phase initiative. The second will shift energy into a get-out-the-vote campaign, as a counter to recent court decisions that aim to stifle the power of Black voters across the country.
A lot of people have asked me what they can do about the cruelty they see in our political system today. This is a good start.
