August 28, 2019
Page 9
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O PINION
‘Blessings of Liberty’ Only for White People
Trump’s
gatekeeper
closes doors to
people of color
o sCar h. b layton
There is a sickening
stench about Ken Cuc-
cinelli.
Ken Cuccinelli is
Donald Trump’s newly
appointed acting direc-
tor of the U.S. Citizen-
ship and Immigration Services,
and his type of stench is not one
that assaults the nose, rather it is a
noxious affront that assaults one’s
dignity.
Cuccinelli’s main function in
his new position is to act as Don-
ald Trump’s gatekeeper to bar
America’s doors to people of col-
or. His job description requires a
belief in the notion that America
is a land for white prosperity and
by
Statue of Liberty welcomes “your
tired, your poor, your huddled
masses yearning to breathe free.”
Oblivious to the meaning of the
words of the poem inscribed on
the plaque at the base of the great
statue, Cuccinelli insisted that
their intent was “Give me your
tired and your poor who
can stand on their own two
feet, and who will not be-
come a public charge.”
When asked to explain
his revised version of the
famous poem, Cuccinelli
said, in essence, the poem
was meant for white people. In
his words: “That poem was refer-
ring back to people coming from
Europe…”
Cuccinelli’s remark gives proof
to the fact that white supremacy
can only flourish when fertilized
with the manure of bigoted igno-
rance.
The Statue of Liberty was
conceived by Édouard René de
Laboulaye of France to com-
Given the history of this country,
it is not difficult to understand
why Cuccinelli believes America
is reserved for white people and
the Statue of Liberty was meant
only for them. But we must always
keep in mind that people like Ken
Cuccinelli drag this nation further
into the mire of despotism as they
seek the “blessings of liberty” only
for themselves and those who look
like them.
any non-white presence – if not of
service to white supremacy – is a
trespass.
The Trump Administration re-
cently came under fire when Cuc-
cinelli announced that it would
implement its “public-charge
rule,” declaring that anyone seek-
ing immigration to the United
States would be deemed undesir-
able if they could not satisfactorily
prove their self-sufficiency – the
effect being to bar poor people.
Some commentators have de-
scribed this rule as Draconian and
point out that it would have barred
Cuccinelli’s poor ancestors from
entering America as well. And
one reporter reminded him that the
memorate the end of slavery in
the United States. The original
concept was to have Lady Liber-
ty holding a broken shackle and
chain in her left hand. But due to
powerful Americans objecting to
this reference to slavery, the final
version of the statue replaced the
chains with a tablet inscribed with
“July IV MDCCLXXVI,” the date
of the signing of the Declaration
of Independence, and placed the
broken chains beneath her feet.
By the time the statue was in-
stalled in New York Harbor in
1886, Reconstruction in the South
was over, and America had turned
its back on the plight of African
Americans suffering from injus-
tice and oppression. Little, if any,
reference was made at that time
to the anti-slavery message of
the statue. By then, America had
moved so far away from being
concerned about the welfare of
African Americans.
Despite Cuccinelli’s asser-
tions, Ellis Island did not official-
ly open as an immigration station
until Jan. 1, 1892. And the words
of Emma Lazarus’ famous poem
were not placed on the base of
the statue until 1903 – 17 years
after the Statue of Liberty was
unveiled.
Given the history of this coun-
try, it is not difficult to understand
why Cuccinelli believes America
is reserved for white people and
the Statue of Liberty was meant
only for them. But we must al-
ways keep in mind that people
like Ken Cuccinelli drag this na-
tion further into the mire of despo-
tism as they seek the “blessings of
liberty” only for themselves and
those who look like them.
Cuccinelli’s political path in-
cludes election to the Virginia
state senate beginning in 2002
and as Virginia attorney general in
2009. During his career, he tried
to eliminate birthright citizen-
ship, proposed making it a firing
offense to speak Spanish on the
job and distributed lapel pins to
his staff at the Attorney General’s
Office that were decorated with a
state seal adopted by Virginia and
used on Confederate battle flags
after the state seceded from the
Union in 1861.
The stench of bigotry envel-
oping Ken Cuccinelli is so strong
that, according to reports, U.S.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell
advised
Donald
Trump not to nominate him for
any post that requires Senate con-
firmation. To this day, Cuccinelli
remains acting director of the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Ser-
vices, holding that office without
Senate confirmation.
I have been exposed to the
stench of racism and bigotry all my
life, and as a Virginian, I have en-
dured Ken Cuccinelli’s stench for
almost two decades. Now, thanks
to Donald Trump, all America is
experiencing that stench as well.
Oscar H. Blayton is a former
Marine Corps combat pilot and
human rights activist who practic-
es law in Virginia.