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

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

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to a question about ****** History Month

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— 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 ****** History Month this year, given the

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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 ****** 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 ****** 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 ****** history has since spurred a lot of questions on social media. While

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took her response as confirmation that the White House plans to honor ****** History Month, others interpreted the press secretary’s pivot to talking about “all Americans regardless of race” to mean that the White House

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****** History Month in a significant way.

“That means NO,” one person

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.

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

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.

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

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt photographed during her debut press briefing at the White House in Washington on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025. via Associated Press

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, 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

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— 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 ****** History Month events during his first term as president, but his recent executive actions have

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about how his new administration — and other federal agencies — will recognize ****** History Month this year.

The president has

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to put an end to federal DEI programs, and he also

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to be put on leave and eventually laid off. And on Wednesday, Trump

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that receive federal funding to stop teaching what he views as “

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,” among other topics, such as teachings related to gender identity.

Federal agencies are already changing their ****** 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 ****** History Month,

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, which obtained the agency’s memo.

This should concern everyone. ****** 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

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

“****** History Month raised the visibility of ****** history — about slavery and Jim Crow but also about the essential role of ****** 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 ****** history, Hunter suggested pointing out that “there would be no United States of America without the labor and love of ****** 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 “****** history is American history.”

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