White House Press Secretary’s Puzzling Remark About Black History Month Spurs Questions

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to a question about Black History Month during her first press briefing on Tuesday — and many found her answer quite unsettling.

At the briefing, White House correspondent April Ryan asked Leavitt whether President Donald Trump’s administration has plans to celebrate Black History Month this year, given the president’s ongoing crusade against programs and initiatives that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.

“As we’re dealing with anti-DEI and anti-woke efforts, we understand this administration … is thinking about celebrating Black History Month. Have you got any word on that, anything that you can offer to us?” Ryan asked.

“As far as I know, this White House certainly still intends to celebrate — and we will continue to celebrate American history and the contributions that all Americans, regardless of race, religion or creed, have made to our great country,” Leavitt said. “And America is back.”

It’s unclear how the White House plans to commemorate this year’s Black History Month, which begins on Saturday, Feb. 1. While the press secretary said the White House “still intends to celebrate,” she immediately followed that statement with a remark about celebrating everyone — regardless of their race.

Leavitt’s apparent attempt to minimize the focus on Black history has since spurred a lot of questions on social media. While some people took her response as confirmation that the White House plans to honor Black History Month, others interpreted the press secretary’s pivot to talking about “all Americans regardless of race” to mean that the White House doesn’t intend to recognize Black History Month in a significant way.

“That means NO,” one person wrote on X, formerly callled Twitter.

Another pointed out that Leavitt didn’t say the words “Black history” in her reply. “Tells you everything you need to know,” they wrote.

A representative for the White House did not immediately return a request for comment.

Erica Foldy, associate professor of public and nonprofit management at the Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University, thought that Leavitt’s response resembled Trump’s recent talking points at his inaugural address promoting the widely criticized idea of racial “colorblindness” — meaning a person’s race can and should be ignored. Critics say that the idea falsely suggests that racism and racial disparities no longer exist.

“This is a classic colorblind response,” Foldy told HuffPost, adding that Leavitt’s response suggests that “we should treat people from different groups the same as opposed to recognizing that some groups have faced and have continued to face discrimination and racism.”

The “Trump administration is anything but colorblind, since it seeks to protect and advance white people to the detriment of people of other races,” she added.

Trump had hosted Black History Month events during his first term as president, but his recent executive actions have sparked many questions about how his new administration — and other federal agencies — will recognize Black History Month this year.

The president has 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. And on Wednesday, Trump ordered U.S. schools that receive federal funding to stop teaching what he views as “critical race theory,” among other topics, such as teachings related to gender identity.

Federal agencies are already changing their Black History Month plans as a result of Trump’s executive actions. The Defense Department’s intelligence agency has paused observances and annual cultural and historical events, including Black History Month, according to The Associated Press, which obtained the agency’s memo.

This should concern everyone. Black History Month, which has been officially recognized in the U.S. for nearly five decades, honors the “powerful story of how enslaved Africans and their descendants built America and continue to make enduring contributions to the very fabric of this nation,” said Marcus Anthony Hunter, author and professor of sociology and African American studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

“It is important for us to remember, acknowledge and celebrate this powerful history of the perseverance of the human spirit in the face of legal and systemic racism and inequity,” Hunter told HuffPost.

“For centuries, Black history was erased,” Foldy said, speaking about the importance of having a Black History Month. “Students might have learned very superficially about slavery and possibly the Civil Rights Movement, but overall these topics were downplayed.”

“Black History Month raised the visibility of Black history — about slavery and Jim Crow but also about the essential role of Black people in creating the U.S. we know today,” she continued. “It is essential that these topics remain squarely on the agenda — otherwise, they will go back to being erased.”

As for what Leavitt’s response might signal about what’s to come from the Trump administration, Foldy said, “It continues the pattern of white supremacy ideology and behaviors that we have seen from Trump for decades.”

And if you’re wondering about ways you can personally respond to someone attempting to dismiss the importance of celebrating Black history, Hunter suggested pointing out that “there would be no United States of America without the labor and love of Black people.”

“If you do not have a grasp of this fact, then you have not been fully empowered and equipped with the truth,” he said.

And Foldy added that you should remind them that “Black history is American history.”

Related…