Trump’s Black History Month Proclamation Not-So-Surprisingly Omits This Important Subject

President Donald Trump has issued a proclamation recognizing Black History Month this February, despite his recent executive orders that have gutted diversity, equity and inclusion practices in organizations across the country since he took office last month.

Trump’s official statement follows a tradition that’s been in place for nearly three decades — U.S. presidents have annually recognized a national Black History Month with a proclamation since 1996, according to the Library of Congress. Trump himself had issued annual proclamations during his first term as president.

But Trump’s proclamation this year, unlike his previous ones, noticeably did not explicitly address themes relating to the country’s history of racial discrimination. He began his 2020 proclamation with the recognition that Black Americans have “enhanced and advanced every aspect of American life” through “bravery, perseverance, faith, and resolve — often in the face of incredible prejudice and hardship.”

And even his other proclamations issued prior to that during his first term — in 2019, 2018 and 2017 — have mentioned words like “resilience”or “egregious discrimination.” His 2019 proclamation began with the recognization that the year 1619 marked the start of the slave trade in what was to become the United States.

“It was from this immoral origin—and through inhuman conditions, discrimination, and prolonged hardship—that emerged the vibrant culture, singular accomplishments, and groundbreaking triumphs that we honor and celebrate during National African American History Month,” the proclamation stated.

But Trump’s more toned-down 2025 proclamation seemed to focus primarily on celebrating the contributions of “black American patriots who have indelibly shaped our Nation’s history,” as the document states, with no clear mention of racial inequities, discrimination or the legacy of slavery.

The proclamation recognized historical figures such as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, as well as living prominent people like economist Thomas Sowell, Justice Clarence Thomas and golf legend Tiger Woods.

“Their achievements, which have monumentally advanced the tradition of equality under the law in our great country, continue to serve as an inspiration for all Americans,” it read.

Shaun Harper, a professor of education, business and public policy at the University of Southern California, called the president’s latest proclamation “sanitized” and “incomplete.”

“America’s Black history includes slavery, Jim Crow, separate and unequal schooling, redlining, racial violence, and far too many well-documented inequities,” he told HuffPost. “A sanitized proclamation that fails to acknowledge any of this is incomplete and inconsistent with prior years.”

Many people on socialmedia called the proclamation hypocritical given the Trump administration’s recent executive actions and the ambiguity about whether the White House would commemorate the month at all.

The president has launched a crusade against practices that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, known as DEI. Last month, he signed an executive order to put an end to federal DEI programs, and he also directed all federal DEI staff to be put on leave and eventually laid off. Additionally, Trump has ordered U.S. schools to stop teaching what he views as “critical race theory.”

His actions have already had real consequences. Employees have lost their jobs, companies have changed their practices on promoting diversity, and federal agencies are discontinuing celebrations of cultural holidays — including Black History Month.

The Defense Department’s intelligence agency released a memo last month announcing that it had paused annual events including Black History Month. Then, days later, the Defense Department issued a news release titled “Identity Months Dead at DOD.”

DEI practices are meant to help level the playing field and address America’s long history of employment and hiring discrimination — themes Trump himself had alluded to in his previous Black History Month proclamations during his first term. DEI does not diminish “the importance of individual merit” as the president said in his recent executive order.

“Hiring for diversity is not about giving unqualified people jobs; it’s about recognizing talent that has historically been ignored or undervalued,” Parker McMullen Bushman, CEO and founder of Ecoinclusive Strategies, previously told HuffPost.

Harper said that Trump’s proclamation coupled with the Defense Department’s intelligence agency memo sends “mixed messages to federal employees and to the rest of our nation.”

“On his first day in office, Trump swiftly dismantled government offices and federal programs that aim to right America’s past and present wrongs against Black people,” he told HuffPost. “Don’t wish us a Happy Black History Month after having spat on the graves of Black heroes and sheroes who died in pursuit of unfulfilled promises to us.”

“It’s offensive,” he added.

There are many ways to individually honor Black History Month despite Trump’s recent messaging.

Trump’s unsatisfactory Black History Month proclamation and the cancellation of history month celebrations in parts of the federal government are disheartening. But there are countless ways you can personally honor Black History Month, which has been officially recognized in the U.S. for nearly five decades.

You can find new Black businesses to support, buy more books by Black authors, attend a local Black History Month event in your hometown or visit African-American history museums, to name a few ideas.

The Association for the Study of African American Life & History, founded by historian Carter G. Woodson — who is known as the father of Black History Month — emphasizes on its website that it’s important to make a commitment to honor Black History beyond February.

“Make a strategic commitment to Black History Month, and don’t limit your efforts to just February,” it states.