The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, one of the most prominent civil rights organizations, has called on President Donald Trump to fire White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon, via a statement made Saturday. The statement comes on the heels of the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virgina, that left three people dead and 34 injured.
The statement read:
The blatant racism on display in Charlottesville is absolutely disgusting. It’s hard to believe that in 2017 we are still plagued by so much race-based hatred. The NAACP will always stand against hate and any persons who threaten the moral right of our community.
These kinds of actions should come as no surprise, however. We are living under an administration that campaigned on hatred, discrimination and xenophobia. They have given permission and a platform for bigots, like the right-wing, white nationalists in Charlottesville, to thrive and spread violence.
While we acknowledge and appreciate President Trump’s disavowment of the hatred which has resulted in a loss of life today, we call on the President to take the tangible step to remove Steve Bannon – a well-known supremacist leader – from his team of advisers. Bannon serves as a symbol of white nationalism and his high place in the White House only energizes that sentiment.
We must help to bridge what divides Americans rather than widen the gap between us. In the meantime, the NAACP stands strong with our brothers and sisters in Charlottesville who are gathering, marching and singing for peace. We are and will continue to be steadfast and immovable in the fight against discrimination, prejudice and hatred – and we are not afraid.
Bannon is the former head of Breitbart News. The NAACP previously called Bannon’s appointment as “troubling and incongruous with President-elect Trump’s recent calls for unity and promises to serve the interests of all Americans.” The statement went on to say that “Trump’s choices instead indicate a disregard for the equal protection of all citizens and grant favor and influence to a faction with unabashedly racist, misogynistic, xenophobic and anti-Semitic views.”