When Press Secretary Sean Spicer announced that the White House would host a series of events celebrating Black History Month, many African Americans were skeptical that it would be a genuine effort. President Donald Trump, who was once sued by the Justice Department for discriminating against black tenants, launched his foray into politics by questioning the citizenship of the nation's first black president. His black outreach efforts during the campaign often veered into offensive territory, with frequent references to "inner cities" as crime-ridden hellscapes, and only 8 percent of black voters cast ballots for him. He appointed Steve Bannon, who led a right-wing website with white nationalist ties, as chief strategist and Jeff Sessions, who has faced allegations of racism for decades, as attorney general.

Those concerns were quickly borne out. From the first day of Black History Month, Trump repeatedly bungled attempts to commemorate the country's African American leaders and community. Here's a recap of the Trump administration's first Black History Month: 

2/1: Trump's disastrous Black History Month kickoff
Trump began his speech at the White House's Black History Month kickoff event as follows:

Well, the election, it came out really well. Next time we'll triple the number [of black votes] or quadruple it. We want to get it over 51, right? At least 51.

It didn't get better from there. Trump paused briefly to reflect on the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. but then used the civil rights icon to get in a few jabs at the "fake news" reporters who mistakenly said that Trump removed a bust of King from the Oval Office shortly after the presidential inauguration. "So I think it was a disgrace, but that's the way the press is," Trump said. "Very unfortunate." ...