Kick the alt-right out of the White House, say AAPI, black and Latino lawmakers

This photo went viral in the Asian American community.

WHAT'S NEXT after Donald Trump belatedly condemned the KKK, neo-Nazis and white supremacists for the violence that broke out in Charlottesville, Va. over the weekend?
Charlottesville may very well be the "turning point" in America, but not the way meant by David Duke, former KKK leader.

The Trump administration has initiated a litany of policies and initiatives that would turn back the clock to when privilege and power were limited only to whites, including:

• Attacking affirmative action
• Initiating barriers to voting
• Restricting Muslims traveling to the U.S.
• Reducing legal immigration by half
• Criminalizing immigrants
• Trying to kick transgender military personnel out of the armed forces
• Assaulting civil rights

The same day  (Aug. 15) that Donald Trump gave one of the most off-the-wall press conferences about the events in Charlottesville, Va., the leadership of the Congressional Quad-Caucus – which is composed of chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) – and Representatives Barbara Lee and David Cicilline sent a letter to Donald Trump calling for the immediate removal of Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka and Stephen Miller from the White House. Bannon, Gorka and Miller, all with ties to the alt-right or have espoused white nationalists'  world view,  serve as senior advisors to the President.

The Congressional Quad-Caucus leadership along with Congresswoman Barbara Lee released the following statements upon release of the letter. Full text of the letter can be found here.

“President Trump's delayed denunciation of white supremacists and their violent actions in Charlottesville, Virginia this past weekend cannot be separated from this Administration's ongoing assault on racial and religious minorities," said CAPAC Chairwoman Judy Chu, D-Calif. 

"This is not surprising, as the President has filled his inner circle with known supporters of white supremacists, including Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Sebastian Gorka. Their continued presence in the White House is not only an affront to communities across this nation that were threatened and attacked by the violent protests over the weekend, but is a direct contradiction to President Trump's own delayed condemnation of white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and the KKK. Actions speak louder than words. I join my colleagues and call upon President Trump to remove these white supremacists from office, and take action to defeat hate.”

“The white supremacists who descended upon Charlottesville have brought vile racism, hatred and bigotry to the forefront of our political discourse once again. We cannot address the dangerous spread of white supremacy in America without honestly examining its influence on the Oval Office," agreed Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif. 

"President Trump has elevated hate and discrimination to the highest levels of our government. From the Muslim Ban, to raids on immigrant communities, a ban on transgender Americans serving in our military, attempts to revive the failed war on drugs and an all-out assault on civil and human rights, the influence of the alt-right is clear in the Trump Administration’s policy agenda."

“Steve Bannon, Sebastian Gorka and Stephen Miller have long embraced the views of white supremacists, white nationalists and Neo-Nazis. These prejudiced ideologies have no place in the highest office in our land. I urge President Trump to remove Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller and Sebastian Gorka from the White House without delay.”

What can we, the people do to affect the direction of our country?

Speak up: Talk to your neighbors, your family, and your friends. Have a dialogue about what’s happening in our country and what we can do about it. Acknowledge where there are injustices in your community and organize together to reform the system and fix them.

Show up: Prepare for 2018 when the mid-term elections will be held for our congressional represenatives. Make sure those friends and relatives who are eligible to vote is registered. We need to replace those lawmakers who have given Trump a blank check and choose party over country. When it comes time to vote, get out and vote.

Act up: Take action and do something important. There will be rallies, lawmakers' town halls and marches in the future that you can join. Don’t give in to, as Martin Luther King, Jr. would say, “the appalling silence of good people.”

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