Emboldened by President Donald Trump’s racist attacks against Democratic lawmakers of color and his support of white nationalism, his supporters sent letters to black lawmakers in North Carolina this week threatening to place them in concentration camps if they don’t “go back” where they came from.
Last month, Trump received tremendous backlash after he told four Democratic congresswomen of color to “go back” to the countries they came from even though all four women are American citizens and three of them were actually born in the United States. Only Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) was not born here, but she came here as a child from Somalia and has been a citizen longer than First Lady Melania Trump.
Racists have been repeating Trump’s words ever since his attack as incidents of people of color being told to “go back” where they came from are becoming more prevalent in our society.
For instance, a Virginia pastor put a “love it or leave it” sign on his church that outraged the entire congregation enough that they walked out in protest.
Two Latina women were told to “go back” to their country by a gas station clerk who soon regretted his decision to repeat Trump’s racist words to customers.
And now black officials in North Carolina have received disturbing letters that combine Trump’s racist rhetoric with his treatment of immigrants at the border.
Charlotte City Councilman Braxton Winston was shocked to open a letter that called for violence against black Democrats and demanded they “go back” where they came from.
“Each of you despicable BLACK democrats should be tarred and feathered and run out of town (my town) on a rail,” the letter said according to WCNC. “I do believe you need to go back to where you came from if you don’t BEGIN to show this great country some RESPECT and HONOR.”
The letters reportedly praised Trump and blamed black people for America’s problems. And that makes another letter even more disturbing because the Nazis blamed Jews for Germany’s problems in the 1930s before they were rounded up and placed in concentration camps, where 6 million were systematically murdered.
“We’ll round you up and send you screaming to the concentration camps where you belong,” a letter to Mecklenburg County Commissioner Vilma Leake said.
The source of the letters is unknown and is being investigated.
Clearly, Trump’s racist and violent rhetoric towards people of color is resulting in more open hatred against them. And that could turn into a frightening round of violence if we don’t do something to send racists back to the fringes of society where they belong, starting with Trump.
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