President Donald Trump celebrated Black History Month at the White House on Thursday, with golf icon Tiger Woods as a surprise guest. He praised other athletes there and expressed amazement at the size of the gathering.
Additionally, Trump declared his intention to include Alice Johnson, a supporter of prison reform whom he pardoned in 2020, in his administration to work on clemency-related topics.
Although the White House’s Black History Month reception carries on a long-standing tradition, its observance has been disrupted elsewhere following Trump’s executive order that ended the federal government’s diversity, equality, and inclusion programs.
Trump said: “Today, we pay tribute to the generations of Black legends, champions, warriors, and patriots who helped drive our country forward to greatness. And you really are great, great people,”
Celebrities who attended Donald Trump’s event
While speaking to hundreds of people at an East Room reception, Trump made a passing reference to The New York Times’ “1619 Project,” which emphasizes the lingering effects of slavery in America, but he did not bring up his anti-DEI campaign. During his first administration, Trump had opposed the project.
Black activists and political leaders who have been strong supporters of Trump joined him. Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, Republican Representative John James of Michigan, civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece Alveda King, football legend Herschel Walker, Trump’s pick for U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas, and prison reform activist Alice Johnson were among the invited guests, according to a White House official.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity and was not permitted to talk publicly, said that other invited guests included rap artists Kodak Black, Lil Boosie, and Rod Wave; former NFL player Jack Brewer; and former ESPN commentator Sage Steele.
