Trump’s White House is a step backward in racial progress

In the days following Donald Trump’s election, thousands took to the streets across the United States to protest.

But many commentators advised caution, suggesting that the man on the campaign trail – a contentious, no-holds barred misogynist and race-baiter, might somehow change when he got to the White House.

The appointment of Steven Bannon, who ran a website that helped spread the orthodoxy of the ‘Alt Right’ as a top strategist and the nomination of Jeff Sessions as attorney general would suggest otherwise.

{mosads}In my estimate, Donald Trump, Jeff Sessions, and Steve Bannon represent a schizophrenic version of neo-fascism hidden behind the mask of populism. There is a commonality shared amongst these three men: in my opinion they all represent the vial vestiges of bigotry. To expect the Trump Administration’s governing style to be any different from the candidate’s campaign rhetoric, and that of his top followers – is nothing short of naive.

What is even more troubling is the way in which these appointments signal the empowerment and normalization in politics of white supremacists and bigots. It is not through mere serendipity that white supremacist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan and the ‘Alt Right’ are celebrating the election of Donald Trump. 

Celebrating Trump’s victory, David Duke tweeted “This is one of the most exciting nights of my life; make no mistake about it, our people have played a huge role in electing Trump.” 

This is one of the most exciting nights of my life -> make no mistake about it, our people have played a HUGE role in electing Trump! #MAGA pic.twitter.com/HvJyiJYuVa

— David Duke (@DrDavidDuke) November 9, 2016

Law enforcement officials have reported a significant spike in hate crimes against religious and ethnic minorities. 

Just last week an enraged Trump supporter called Clinton supporters “Hillary Bitches” on board of a Delta flight. According to a recent report released from the Southern Poverty Law Center, there have been 437 reports of “hateful intimidation and harassment” that involved blacks, Muslims, women, immigrants and members of the LGBTQ community.

Law enforcement officials in California and Georgia are even investigating calls for genocide against Muslims. According to the Los Angeles Police Department and law enforcement officials in Georgia at least seven Islamic centers were sent anonymous letters stating: “He’s going to do to you what Hitler did to the Jews.”

While Bannon’s appointment would have likely been troubling anyway given his close association with Breibart, which has advanced racist, sexists, and anti-Semitic views what makes his appointment even more alarming is that fact that on the campaign trail Donald Trump engaged in one of the most racist and bigoted campaigns in U.S. history.

The ideology Steven Bannon has aided in spreading symbolizes a dark history that America has worked so hard to overcome. Steve Bannon’s appointment provides an international platform for those who share his views, in a profound attempt to normalize white supremacist ideology by way of the ‘Alt Right.’

Donald Trump’s candidacy and subsequently his presidency has already made it ‘ok’ to openly express forms of racism, sexism, and xenophobia that many individuals in the United States have come to reject as objectively wrong. Many of these white supremacist organizations now feel a sense of empowerment that they have not felt in years and feel they can openly express their bigotry in mainstream forums.

In a move that is bound to have an impact beyond the symbolic empowerment of white supremacists, the nomination of Jeff Sessions as the Attorney General – who was rejected years ago for a federal judgeship after a history of racist comments surfaced – represents the most immediate threat to civil rights, voting rights, criminal justice reform, immigration and race relations. 

This nomination however raises the fundamental question of just how much racial progress have we achieved in the United States? How is it that someone who was deemed too racists by a Republican Senate in 1986 to serve as a federal judge is now fit to serve as the top law enforcement officer in the country in 2016?

Sessions’ record on race, civil rights, voting rights, and disability services is very disturbing. He has called the NAACP “communist inspired.” He referred to a white civil rights attorney as “a disgrace to his race.” He joked about liking the KKK until he found out they smoked marijuana. He called the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965 “a piece of instructive legislation.” He referred to a black attorney as “boy.”

During his tenure as a U.S. Attorney Sessions unsuccessfully attempted to prosecute two prominent civil rights activists in a voter fraud case in the state of Alabama.

Beyond Session’s racial rhetoric is the enormous danger he would pose as attorney general. The Attorney General is charged with the duty of enforcing federal laws. One of the most important functions that Justice Department can us is to power to bring federal lawsuits against states that engages in discriminatory practices.

Additionally, the attorney general can threaten to withdraw federal funds from programs in states that do not comply with federal law. Sessions’ history suggests that as Attorney General, he is highly unlikely to utilize the authority of the Justice Department to investigate claims of police brutality, voting rights and civil rights violations.

At a time when there is a strong degree of distrust between communities of color and law enforcement the confirmation of Jeff Sessions is likely to create further distrust. Jeff Sessions will be to the Black Lives Matter Movement was what J. Edgar Hoover was to the Martin Luther King.

It is important that we are unequivocally clear about what these appointments symbolize.

These appointments send a direct message to closeted and opened white supremacist that they are symbolically and substantively represented at 16000 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The preservation of our democratic values will demand a profound commitment to standing up for justice and the liberation of minorities. Although Donald Trump is entitled to nominate whomever he pleases he must understand that his calls for unity while surrounding himself with people like Bannon, Sessions and Michael Flynn falls on deaf ears.

If anything, these actions only further divide an already polarized nation. At this point one can only hope that the United States Senate will take seriously its consent powers.

Emmitt Y. Riley III is an Assistant Professor at DePauw University where he teaches about Race, Politics, and Inequality, his researches examines the racial attitudes, white reactions to black political representation and political trust.

The views expressed by Contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.