A number of Virginia legislators and state officials boycotted President Donald Trump’s speech in Jamestown on Tuesday. Instead, they held their own ceremony to commemorate the arrival of the first enslaved Africans to Virginia.
Hundreds of people were there to celebrate and recognize the role African Americans have played in the last 400 years of representative democracy.
Del. Delores McQuinn (D-Richmond) took the opportunity to protest President Trump’s recent attacks on certain Democrats in Congress, including four women in the House.
“He wasn’t just speaking to those four women of color. But he was speaking to every person of color in the United States of America -- make no mistake about it,” McQuinn said.
Del. Marcia Price (D-Newport News) called on her colleagues and the audience to fight for justice, democracy and freedom.
“We must commit ourselves to unceasingly uplifting the voices of those who go unheard, live at the margins and face oppression daily,” Price said.
The program was followed by a viewing of the Determined exhibition at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture. The display examines the events leading up to American Democracy as we know it today.
