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Trump Hosts a Black History Month Reception, Feb. 18, 2026

February 18, 2026 · The White House · 0:48:09

Embedded from the source channel — never re-uploaded. Watch on YouTube

What happened

President Donald Trump hosted the White House Black History Month reception in the East Room on February 18, 2026. “We celebrate the 100th anniversary of Black History Month. That’s a big deal — 100!” he told a crowd he called sold out, gesturing at the ballroom then under construction behind the curtain.

He opened with a tribute to the Reverend Jesse Jackson, whose passing he marked from the podium: “I want to express my sadness at the passing of a person I knew very well… He was a good man. Actually, as he got to know him, he got better and better all the time.” The program carried the administration’s record as its speakers stated it: HUD Secretary Scott Turner promised the department would “continue to do great work and not just make housing affordable… but bring transformation to those that are in our country that depend on subsidies”; the President credited Senator Tim Scott with the Opportunity Zones program — “that was his baby” — and a speaker on the First Step Act noted that “over 40,000 individuals have come home to their families early,” as she stated it. The President also announced from the podium that “Ben is getting the Presidential Medal of Freedom,” calling it “the highest award you could have outside of the Congressional Medal of Honor.”

He closed as he opened, on the anniversary: “We honor the memory of those that came before us by continuing their legacy and fighting for an America that is really an America that is safe and strong and prosperous… Happy Black History Month, happy Black History year, and happy Black History century.”

Why it matters

The centennial-year reception is where the administration states its Black History Month case in its own venue — the Jackson tribute, the housing and Opportunity Zones record, and the First Step Act numbers — with the officials who run those programs on the same stage. It is recorded on the Elections & Governance hub.

Scoreboard watch

The First Step Act figure as stated at the reception — more than 40,000 individuals released early — and the Presidential Medal of Freedom announcement are recorded here for the weekly scoreboard. The scoreboard entry itself remains review-gated.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Participates in a Black History Month Reception,” The White House, February 18, 2026 (official upload, embedded above). All figures and characterizations as stated by the President and the speakers at the reception.