Alveda King, a niece of Martin Luther King Jr., and a staunch supporter of Donald Trump, has been nominated by the president to serve on the Frederick Douglass Bicentennial Commission.
The announcement comes roughly a year after Trump implied that Douglass, a former slave turned social reformer and abolitionist, was still alive.
“Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is getting recognized more and more, I notice,” Trump said at a 2017 Black History Month event.
A year later, Trump is trying to get Douglass even more recognition, even though in the White House’s announcement of King’s appointment, Douglass’ name was spelled wrong among several editing errors:
"The following individual to be a Member of the of the (sic) Frederick Douglas Bicentennial Commission.
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![Frederick Douglass was an African-American social reformer and abolitionist who documented his escape from slavery in his 1845 autobiography "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave." Photo by George K. Warren (d. 1884). [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.](https://www.ajc.com/resizer/v2/VWGAEFCABNJX7DQ3A2RD62SV2U.jpg?auth=bac531ce49fa2adbccf3697e0b36b9c93a6dd645eeb157e9b975137d54f7648f&width=1000&smart=true)
For a president, that has been accused of racism, Alveda
King has been one of his few African-American allies as a constant presence and advocate.
“I do not believe President Donald John Trump is a racist. The economy’s up. Jobs are up in the black community,” she said in a January television interview about her uncle’s birthday. “There is great promise to get a lot of people who have been unfairly incarcerated out.”
King, a stalwart Christian anti-abortion conservative, was by Trump's side – along with HUD Secretary Ben Carson – last February when he visited the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.
She was also onboard Air Force One last month when Trump signed a measure granting Georgia its first national historic park at the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site near downtown Atlanta.
“I believe Donald John Trump recognized sincerity for truth and justice for everyone and that is the basis of this appointment,” King told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I am honored that I can serve America in this capacity.”
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Without getting specific, King said the commission will work this year to honor and highlight the work of Douglass, who was born a slave on the Eastern Shore of Maryland on Feb. 20, 1819.
Douglass escaped slavery in 1838, taught himself to read and became a gifted orator, forcefully speaking out against slavery. He wrote at least three autobiographies, championed the rights of black soldiers to fight in the Civil War, and was a confident and friend of President Abraham Lincoln.
Douglass died in 1895.
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