When news broke over the weekend that President Trump would be adding a new section to the White House website to celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day, many Americans were surprised. An administration that actively courts white South Africans and northern Europeans in its immigration pushes would not typically be counted on to celebrate the life and work of an African-American leader cut down in his prime.
Many Americans were hopeful that this moment sparked a new direction for this White House. One of potential. One of hope.
And then came Monday morning.
“Join us REAL AMERICANS online for the 1st Annual American Blackface Film Festival!” President Trump posted early Monday on his Truth Social account. “We will be simulcasting Great American Movies online and at the Trump Kennedy Center, where my good friend Scott Baio will be our very special MC for all these Great Movies!
“Make Blackface Great Again!”
The festival will feature such infamous films at The Birth of a Nation (1915), The Jazz Singer (1927), Babes on Broadway (1941), and Holiday Inn (1942). Those looking for more recent examples of blackface films will want to tune in later in the week for selections like Soul Man (1986) and Tropic Thunder (2008).
Sponsored by the Scuffless Shoe Polish Company of Teaneck, New Jersey, the 1st Annual American Blackface Film Festival will run through Friday. A full schedule can be found online at the Trump Kennedy Center website and on the official White House homepage under the “My Cool Stuff” tab.
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