| Friend,
Once again, Donald Trump is using Twitter to incite anti-Black hate.
Earlier this month, he vilified NASCAR’s lone Black driver, Bubba Wallace,1 and called Black Lives Matter a “symbol of hate.”2 This comes at a time when racists are threatening peaceful protesters with guns3 and a noose was found in Wallace’s assigned garage.4
Trump uses Twitter to embolden violent racism. Tell Twitter to cut off his microphone NOW.
Twitter has said that Trump gets a pass because he’s a world leader. But his powerful position is exactly why he should be scrutinized.
For more than 400 years, those in power at every level of U.S. society have treated Black folks and other people of color as less than human. White folks who benefit from this racial hierarchy are feeling their grip on power slip away, and some are willing to violently resist.
One recent big change came when Bubba Wallace was the catalyst for a NASCAR decision to ban Confederate flags. Weeks later, a noose was found hanging in his assigned garage. And though an investigation showed the noose had been there for at least a year, the fact remains that out of 1,700 NASCAR garages, the one designated for Wallace was the only one with a noose.
Ultimately, NASCAR can’t just flip a switch and make its 70-year embrace of white supremacy disappear. That noose is part and parcel of the league’s history — and the broader history of racism in this country.
Trump has fomented hate against Bubba Wallace and other Black people for far too long: Tell Twitter to get on the right side of history and ban the president now.
In yet another attempt to exploit seething racial hatred and fear, Trump tweeted5 that Wallace should be forced to “apologize” for the noose “hoax”.
But this isn’t a game.
Real lives are at stake. Bubba Wallace walks into a hostile environment every day. Not just at NASCAR — but anywhere he exists as a Black person.
We know this because we saw what happened to George Floyd, and we know what happened to Breonna Taylor. Innocent unarmed people and protesters are being killed to protect the status quo of white control.
And the president is using Twitter to let us all know that he’s invested in white control, too.
If Twitter truly believes that Black lives matter, as it proclaimed6 on billboards across the country this summer, then it’s time to stop the virtue signaling and take real action.
Tell Twitter to ban Trump from its platform and end its cowardly appeasement of the 45th U.S. president.
Trump’s agenda is reckless, racist and wrong. And as long he’s allowed to use tweets to shape the media and cultural conversation, Twitter’s agenda is, too.
We know that Big Tech companies like Twitter and Facebook have built a business model that amplifies hate, extremism and propaganda for profit. Now it’s time for these companies to own their responsibility to protect users. That starts by acting within their rights as private companies to crack down on Trump’s speech.
Though it may take time, we know that the Movement for Black Lives will prevail. But we also know that there are plenty of people out there willing to kill their own neighbors to keep that from happening. We’ve already seen violent people admit they took inspiration from Trump,7 and it’s only a matter of time before something horrific happens again as a result of the president’s incendiary speech.
Twitter has the power to help prevent this. And we have the power to win.
Tell Twitter to ban Donald Trump.
Thanks for all that you do,
Collette, Nilda and the rest of the Free Press Action team
freepress.net
P.S. Trump has used his Twitter account to harass and threaten people of color countless times. Enough is enough: Urge Twitter to ban Donald Trump.
1. “President Donald Trump Calls Out Bubba Wallace, NASCAR in Tweet,” ESPN, July 6, 2020
2. “Trump Calls Black Lives Matter a 'Symbol of Hate' as He Digs in on Race,” CNN, July 1, 2020
3. “Prosecutor Launches Investigation After White Couple Seen Pointing Guns at St. Louis Protesters,” USA Today, June 30, 2020
4. “The Noose in Bubba Wallace’s Garage Is a Reminder of America’s Violent Past, The Undefeated, July 2, 2020
5. “Kevin Harvick on Trump's Bubba Wallace Tweet: 'A Misinformed Tweet Is Not Going to Change the Unity and Direction of Our Sport,’” Yahoo Sports, July 7, 2002
6. “Twitter Is Showcasing Black Lives Matter Tweets on Billboards Across the Country,” Adage, June 25, 2020
7. “'No Blame?' ABC News Finds 54 Cases Invoking 'Trump' In Connection With Violence, Threats, Alleged Assaults.” ABC News, May 30, 2020  |
