Anchor Alisha Laventure at KENS 5 sister station WFAA is the daughter of Haitian immigrants and shared this commentary on the 4 p.m. newscast on Friday, January 12, 2018.
I’ve been struggling with what the president said yesterday.
My parents were born in Haiti. They immigrated to this country as children.
They had nothing when they came here.
Think about the amount of grit and courage it takes to leave your home, to cross ocean waters and to start over in a new country.
A country where you don't speak the language. You have no money - you are starting over from scratch.
My parents did this.
They busted their butts. And when you look at what they’ve managed to accomplish, there is no denying they are rock stars.
How do you criticize people who are simply trying to come to this country to live a better life?
The President of the United States is a man who represents a nation of immigrants.
I get I’m a journalist. I’m not in the business of sharing my personal opinions.
I’m only supposed to be unbiased and report the facts.
But the fact is, what the president said yesterday was wrong. It was so wrong, I can’t even repeat it on air! He is the president!
My president. He’s still my president and that’s how he talks about me? Not just me, an entire continent’s worth of people.
I sat up until 3 a.m. trying to figure how to address this headline on my Facebook page today. I was trying to be diplomatic.
The president is not playing by the same rules. How can he be so crass, so vulgar? He’s done this before. Enough is enough! If the head of any corporation said what the president said yesterday, that person would be fired.
Why should we accept any less from the President of the United States of America? A country, by the way, that’s played a hand in the poverty Haiti and other nations face today.
We have a right and a responsibility to hold the president to a higher standard.
His rhetoric falls far from it.
If my job is to report the truth - the truth is, what the president said was hurtful. It was mean. And to be blunt -- it was racist.
If you’re willing to let this language fly, you’re part of the problem.
Elected officials -- that includes you.
Putting America first shouldn’t mean bashing people of other nations trying to achieve the American dream.
A little respect goes a long way.