FAMU president’s attendance at Trump Black History Month event draws backlash

The decision by FAMU President Marva Johnson to attend a White House Black History Month celebration hosted by President Donald Trump on Wednesday has drawn sharp criticism from alumni, faculty, and advocates, coming just two weeks after Mr. Trump shared a video on social media depicting the nation's first Black President Barack and Michelle Obama as apes—a post widely condemned as racist.  Trump drew bipartisan criticism for the video, Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican in the Senate, called it “the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.” The video was eventually removed from the president’s account, but he refused to apologize.

A vocal contingent of Black conservative supporters, many aligned with the MAGA movement, broke into chants of “four more years!”—offering a warm reception to a leader whose relationship with the broader Black community remains deeply strained by his history of racially inflammatory rhetoric and policies.

Striking a difficult balance

Johnson is no stranger to Republican politics. She served on the host committee for the 2020 Republican National Convention and was one of Florida’s presidential electors for Mr. Trump. Her alignment with the party has now placed her at the center of debate over how, and whether, HBCU leaders should engage with an administration whose policies and rhetoric often conflict with the values of their institutions.

Her attendance highlighted the difficult balancing act faced by leaders of historically Black institutions when engaging with a polarizing administration that has repeatedly undermined racial equity initiatives—even if it offers a platform for institutional advocacy.

In a statement, the university defended her participation, calling her participation “strategic” rather than “symbolic” and emphasizing her commitment to “elevate the contributions of HBCUs.” But for many within the FAMU community, the move felt like a moral compromise.

Alumni backlash immediate
“I know she didn’t go honor the same man who posted a video of the fack president and his wife as apes? Sickening!” wrote one alumna on social media. Another warned, “Maybe he will make monkey pictures of her next. Lay with dogs and get fleas.”

“There’s a difference between strategic engagement and being used as a prop,” said Marcus Bright, an education policy scholar and FAMU alumnus. “When the president openly traffics in racist imagery and dismisses the legacy of slavery, showing up at his event—during Black History Month, no less—sends a damaging message to students who look to these institutions not just for education, but for moral leadership.” 

Also this month, Mr. Trump notably excluded Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, the nation’s only Black governor, from a recent bipartisan gathering at the White House.

“You can’t decouple the politics from the person in this case,” said Daniel Black, a professor of sociology at Clark Atlanta University. “When the president dehumanizes Black leaders, celebrates the erasure of DEI, and snubs the nation's only Black governor—sharing a stage with him isn’t advocacy. It’s acquiescence.”