As the president spoke about unity in last night’s State of the Union address, the Congressional Black Caucus demonstrated disunity by wearing traditional African garb.
CBC members wore shawls or neckties made of Kente cloth, an African fabric usually marked by its “dazzling, multicolored patterns of bright colors, geometric shapes and bold designs,” to the State of the Union, according to ABC 7 in San Francisco.
The purpose of wearing the cloth was to protest the president’s alleged comments about African nations.
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Congressional Black Caucus reacts. Tag yourself. pic.twitter.com/ucZyc8H0UO
— Ana Marie Cox (@anamariecox) January 31, 2018
The Congressional Black Caucus members who aren't boycotting tonight's #SOTU all are wearing coordinating afro-centric prints. #StateOfTheUnion #StateofOurUnion pic.twitter.com/uSn7ZFXaJQ
— Beatrice Peterson (@missbeae on all platforms) (@MissBeaE) January 31, 2018
“Wearing kente cloth to the #SOTU with my fellow @OfficialCBC Members to stand in solidarity with people from you-know-what countries,” Democratic Rep. Bobby Scott, a CBC member, said in a tweet.
The caucus had been planning ways to protest the State of the Union after President Donald Trump reportedly referred to Africa and Haiti as “sh*thole countries.”
In the end, because the accents were so subtle, the protest went largely unnoticed.
Six members of the CBC protested by boycotting the address. Their absence also went largely unnoticed.
This report, by Amber Randall, was cross posted by arrangement with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
