A group of 149 African-Americans who served in the Obama administration recently published a letter in The Washington Post in defense of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) and her fellow progressive Democrats.
“We’ve heard this before. Go back where you came from. Go back to Africa. And now, ‘send her back.’ Black and brown people in America don’t hear these chants in a vacuum; for many of us, we’ve felt their full force being shouted in our faces, whispered behind our backs, scrawled across lockers, or hurled at us online. They are part of a pattern in our country designed to denigrate us as well as keep us separate and afraid,” the article begins.
They go on to write that “as 149 African-Americans who served in the last administration,” they witnessed “firsthand the relentless attacks on the legitimacy of President Barack Obama and his family.”
“Witnessing racism surge in our country, both during and after Obama’s service and ours, has been a shattering reality to say the lest. But it has also provided jet-fuel for our activism, especially in moments such as these,” they continue.
The Obama alumni then declare that they “stand with congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, as well as all those currently under attack by President Trump, along with his supporters and his enablers, who feel deputized to decide who belongs here – and who does not.”
“There is truly nothing more un-American than calling on fellow citizens to leave our country – by citing their immigrant roots, or ancestry, or their unwillingness to sit in quiet obedience while democracy is being undermined,” they write.
“We refuse to sit idly by as racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia are wielded by the president and any elected official complicit in the poisoning of our democracy,” their letter concludes.
Obama shared the letter on his Twitter page Saturday afternoon.
“I’ve always been proud of what this team accomplished during my administration,” said the former president. “But more than what we did, I’m proud of how they’re continuing to fight for an America that’s better.”
I’ve always been proud of what this team accomplished during my administration. But more than what we did, I’m proud of how they’re continuing to fight for an America that’s better. https://t.co/0cfDltjueP
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) July 27, 2019
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News, The Ohio Star, and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
