Ali Velshi, the host of MSNBC’s “Velshi,” has voiced reservations about commemorating the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States, citing the country’s ongoing struggles with racial issues.
During Sunday’s episode of his show, Velshi highlighted his concerns by referencing a historical photograph of a Ku Klux Klan march that took place along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., back in 1926.
This image, he noted, was captured just a few months after the nation marked its 150th anniversary, known as the sesquicentennial celebration.
“Anniversaries often fail to adequately reflect the complexities of what they are meant to celebrate,” Velshi remarked.
He elaborated by stating that in the U.S., such occasions frequently overlook the racial tensions that have profoundly shaped the nation’s history and political landscape—issues that persist due to America’s reluctance to fully confront its racist origins.
Velshi referred to this enduring challenge as the “original founding sin of slavery” in the United States.
‘Like previous anniversaries, there is a deep unease about this,’ he warned, after receiving citizen status less than 11 years ago. Velshi was born in Kenya and raised in Canada.
‘I feel a deep unease about the celebrations to which I am invited to mark the 250th anniversary of our “so-called” democracy,’ he mused.
MS NOW Chief Correspondent Ali Velshi argued that the US still has work to do on the social justice front before it rings in its 250th anniversary
The host argued that ‘America has never actually fully reckoned with its racist past. Pictured, participants dressed in civil war Union Army uniforms march during a parade in Washington for Memorial Day last Monday
‘Because this 250th anniversary is taking place during yet another period of deep and fundamental and existential unrest brought on by the country’s unresolved racial politics,’ he said.
He pointed out how Louisiana Republicans approved a congressional map the day before that eliminated one of the state’s two majority-black districts
‘Women and black Americans have seen their rights taken away. The Voting Rights Act has effectively been gutted. Other similar bids in other states have been successful as well.
‘A number of states are continuing to gerrymander their congressional maps ahead of the midterm elections, with the explicit effect of taking away political power from black Americans,’ he continued.
‘Louisiana did exactly that. Just a few days ago, it passed a new map that eliminated black majority districts.’
The move came a month after the Supreme Court struck down a map it ruled went too far in boosting black voting representation, to the point where it violated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits any discrimination in voting.
Velshi protested the racial impacts of the decision, saying it constituted racism.
‘If you’ve got conflicting feelings about America’s upcoming anniversary – like you want to celebrate the ideals that America strives for, which are noble and should be celebrated, but lament the state of the country – you’re not alone. At least I’m with you on this,’ he said.
Organizers of The Great American State Fair said Saturday that President Donald Trump will personally kick off the celebration on June 24
The event was launched by Trump last year and is part of a broader vision to highlight the country’s 250th birthday on July 4
The Daily Mail approached MS NOW for comment.
Organizers of The Great American State Fair said Saturday that President Donald Trump will personally kick off the celebration on June 24, after performers like Poison’s Bret Michaels and Martina McBride dropped out due to partisan backlash.
Other artists, such as Flo Rida, Fab Morvan of Milli Vanilli, and Vanilla Ice, still plan to attend the festivities, which a Freedom 250 spokesperson maintained will be ‘inherently nonpolitical.’
The event was launched by Trump last year and is part of a broader vision to highlight the country’s 250th birthday, which is on July 4.
