Time to Disrupt Hate

President Donald Trump’s tweet telling four freshman Congresswomen of color to “go back from where they came from” may provide a much needed “Christmas in July” gift for the Democratic Party. Only days ago, there was constant news coverage about dissension between Progressives and more moderate Democrats. Trump’s attack appears to have united Democrats as the House voted today on a resolution to condemn the remarks.

The remarks from the President targeted four freshmen Congresswomen of color known as the ‘Squad.’ They are Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY), Ilhan Omar (Minn.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.). Three of the Congresswomen were born in the United States, and Omar, who was born in Somalia, became an American citizen in 2000 when she was 17-years old.

The first line of the House resolution says it all: “RESOLUTION Condemning President Trump’s racist comments directed at Members of Congress.”

But it’s still worth unpacking. The details matter. The House resolution is a blueprint on how to deal with hate speech. It exemplifies Michelle Obama’s when-they-go-low-you-go-high approach. We should applaud and support it.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called for a vote on a resolution to condemn President Trump for tweets and comments stating that four Members of Congress should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” She called the remarks “shameful and racist.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed to force a vote on this measure. 

In advance of these votes, the Washington Post listed “What Republican lawmakers said.” Since 189 Members of Congress – the largest of the groups – “dodge” a response, we cannot call them reactions. Some  high-profile Republicans even criticized Trump for his comments. Senate Majority Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, sad that the President is not “a racist” but encouraged everyone to “lower the incendiary rhetoric” across the board. He added, “Our words do matter.”

Trump asked lawmakers to vote no. He has denied his recent comments are racist.

The President of the United States sets the tone. In this case, he unleashed hate against four constitutional officers of the United States. The natural reaction is to meet hate with hate and start a downward spiral to the bottom, ending in violence.

How do we disrupt hate? 

We unite. We remember our unifying democratic principles as stated in the Declaration of Independence and the House resolution:

Whereas the Declaration of Independence defined America as a covenant based on equality, the unalienable Rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and government by the consent of the people;

To combat hate, we return to the words of our Founding Fathers and other compelling leaders. The words of Benjamin Franklin and President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the House resolution inspire our better selves.

Whereas Benjamin Franklin said at the Constitutional convention, ‘‘When foreigners after looking about for some other Country in which they can obtain more happiness, give a preference to ours, it is a proof of attachment which ought to excite our confidence and affection’’;

Whereas President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, ‘‘Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists’’;

Passages from a 1989 speech by President Ronald Reagan that were used in the House resolution offer real comfort:

Whereas ‘‘thanks to each wave of new arrivals to this land of opportunity, we’re a nation forever young, forever bursting with energy and new ideas, and always on the cutting edge’’, always leading the world to the next frontier;

Whereas this openness is vital to our future as a Nation, and ‘‘if we ever closed the door to new Americans, our leadership in the world would soon be lost’’

The resolution is a powerful reminder of the principles that bind us together. It functions as a congressional check on a president engaged in a destructive us-against-them reelection campaign. This strategy runs counter to our concept of patriotism. On this point, the House measure notes: 

Whereas American patriotism is defined not by race or ethnicity but by devotion to the Constitutional ideals of equality, liberty, inclusion, and democracy and by service to our communities and struggle for the common good;

Perhaps most significant of all, the resolution memorializes this sad chapter in our history. The last paragraph of the measure forcefully resolves that the House:

strongly condemns President Donald Trump’s racist comments that have legitimized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color by saying that our fellow Americans who are immigrants, and those who may look to the President like immigrants, should ‘‘go back’’ to other countries, by referring to immigrants and asylum seekers as ‘‘invaders,’’ and by saying that Members of Congress who are immigrants (or those of our colleagues who are wrongly assumed to be immigrants) do not belong in Congress or in the United States of America.

We cannot forget what the President has said and tweeted. There is too much at stake this election cycle. With a president trying to motivate voters with hate speech, it is nice to read this uplifting House resolution.

Holli L. Holliday is a practicing lawyer and president of Sisters Lead Sisters Vote, a nonprofit c4 organization for, by and of black women.