Lumumba, Thompson, NAACP skipping museum for press conference

Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba is among a growing list of elected officials who are protesting President Donald Trump’s scheduled stop in Jackson and instead opting for a competing press conference with U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson and NAACP President Derrick Johnson.

“I believe that Trump’s presence is a distraction. His policies don’t reflect his statements that this is a movement that will bring people together. Trump has not demonstrated a continuing dedication to the ideals the civil rights movement upholds,” the mayor told the Clarion Ledger.

More:Trump will not speak publicly at Mississippi Civil Rights Museum opening

Lumumba, a Democrat, said he originally planned on attending the opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum but changed his mind when he learned he would not have the chance to speak at the event. 

“I had some words that I wanted to say,” the mayor said, "but when I found out that I wasn’t going to have the opportunity to speak, I decided that I didn’t want to share the stage with Trump.”

Despite his decision, the mayor encouraged others to attend the event. He said he would visit the civil rights museum and Museum of Mississippi History, both opening Saturday, after Trump left, although he didn’t mention a specific time. 

The president is not speaking publicly at the event. He will tour the civil rights museum and then address a private crowd of civil rights veterans, museum patrons and elected officials before the public celebration begins just after 11 a.m.

Vicksburg Mayor George Flaggs, also a Democrat, is still attending the grand opening and will be part of the group touring the museum with Trump. 

More:Museum no stranger to presidential politics, partisan criticism

“I’ve always been a person who through my entire political career, that even though I can differ with a person philosophically or politically, I still respect the office of the position,” he told the Vicksburg Post. “To this day, I’m always going to respect the office of the president.”

Flaggs was a member of the state House of Representatives when the Legislature passed bills funding state civil rights and history museums. Gov. Haley Barbour, a Republican, was the driving force in securing funding when it appeared the efforts would die in the Senate.

“To me, this event is bigger than one person, and I hope this will be the beginning of coming together and how important race relationship is in this country," Flaggs said.

Brandon Jones, a founder of the Mississippi Democratic Trust and former state legislator, said he understands his fellow Democrats’ angst and their plans to boycott the ceremonies, but he takes a different view.

Column:Race, religion can haunt but Mississippi will rise to the occasion

“At least from my perspective, I’m choosing to focus on the moment and what it means to our state,” Jones said. “Stripped to its barest form, the state of Mississippi is opening the largest, most comprehensive civil rights museum in the United States, and the president of the United States is coming to commemorate this moment. If you step back and think of that in an historical perspective, Mississippians can be proud of that.

“I hope we don’t get too lost in the political theater surrounding the opening ceremony, because this museum is going to be open a long, long time,” Jones said. “… I truly do get it — I am very sympathetic to anybody who is put off by this and I know where they are coming from. But we really have to keep our eyes on the historical moment … and it’s incumbent on Mississippians not to let anyone hijack that.”

For his part, Lumumba will join Thompson and Johnson — both of whom have said they are skipping the museum opening — for a "joint recognition of individuals who have dedicated their lives for the civil and human rights of Mississippians" as a way to mark the opening of the civil rights museum. The event will take place at 9 a.m. at the Smith Robertson Museum. 

"The opening of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, the nation’s only state-sponsored civil rights museum, also marks the recognition of 200 years of struggle in the state of Mississippi," Lumumba said in a press release. "So, it is only befitting that on this day of celebration we pay tribute to the sacrifices made for equality and civil rights and address the contradiction of President Trump’s attendance at the opening celebration."

The announcement earlier this week of Trump's visit during the state's bicentennial celebration sparked a flood of negative responses from civil rights leaders and Democratic officials. U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., said late Thursday he would no longer attend the event, where he was expected to be a keynote speaker. Former Gov. Ray Mabus, who served as Navy secretary under President Barack Obama, also said he would no longer attend the event.

Those deciding not to attend often cite Trump's reluctance to denounce neo-Nazi groups that demonstrated in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this year and his alleged support from white nationalist groups.

Geoff Pender and Sam R. Hall contributed to this report.