Mike Pence Twitter: Black History Month Tweet Honors Abraham Lincoln Instead Of African Americans

Every February, politicians from across the political spectrum make statements honoring Black History Month. Usually, these statements recognize or celebrate the accomplishments of African-Americans. But Vice President Mike Pence managed the difficult feat Wednesday of honoring Black History while celebrating a white man in a tweet. The vice president was quickly mocked on Twitter.

Pence's tweet called attention to what was inarguably a seminal moment in black history: the end of slavery in the U.S. But by using his Twitter account -- which has nearly 3 million followers -- to honor Black History by celebrating actions of a white president, and all-white state legislatures, Pence wasn't honoring black people at all. After the message went out on Twitter, users of the social media platform piled on the former Indiana governor.

Pence's boss was also criticized for his handling of Black History Month celebrations. At a White House event Wednesday marking the start of the month, President Donald Trump brought up Martin Luther King Jr. in order to attack the media.

"Last month, we celebrated the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose incredible example is unique in American history," Trump said. "You read all about Dr. Martin Luther King a week ago when somebody said I took the statue out of my office. It turned out that that was fake news. Fake news. The statue is cherished, it’s one of the favorite things in the—and we have some good ones. We have Lincoln, and we have Jefferson, and we have Dr. Martin Luther King. But they said the statue, the bust of Martin Luther King, was taken out of the office. And it was never even touched. So I think it was a disgrace, but that’s the way the press is. Very unfortunate."

In fairness to Pence, Carter G. Woodson choose February to celebrate Negro History Week, which would eventually become Black History Month, because both Lincoln and Frederick Douglass were born in February. Woodson was the son of freed slaves who earned a doctorate from Harvard and founded the Association for the Study of African American history.

Maybe Pence should have remembered him.