It is beyond comprehension that President Donald Trump complained in a Truth Social post that the Smithsonian Institution portrays slavery as a bad thing.
Only a racist would dare to defend or dismiss slavery, which stripped Africans of human rights and enslaved them as chattel to pick cotton on southern plantations. They were often whipped and -- in the cases of women and young girls -- raped by their owners.
Clergy in the 1800s preached that slavery was the will of God. Scientists said they "proved" that black people were less evolved as a subspecies.
The Union victory in the Civil War freed the nation's 4 million enslaved people, but the impact of slavery's horror affected families and society for decades. A case can be made that it still does.
Slavery is a critical part of American history -- albeit vulgar -- that should never be erased or forgotten. It is unfortunate that Trump does not understand this.
