Bridget Todd Wears a Make America Great Again Hat for Black Lives Matter Supporters

Yes, you read that right.
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On Thursday, Bridget Todd, a digital political strategist, educator, and writer, went viral during the Inauguration festivities in Washington D.C. She tweeted a picture of herself wearing a hat similar to the ubiquitous "Make America Great Again" hat but instead of Donald Trump's polarizing slogan, Todd’s hat read “Black Lives Matter.” The post was retweeted over 25,000 times. On the day of the Inauguration, we spoke with Bridget about the impact of a Trump presidency on the "Black Lives Matter" movement, how the viral hat came to be, and most importantly, where we can purchase one of our own.

The viral hat was actually created in response to trolls. Bridget’s friend Emma Tolkin designed it after Bridget posted a Facebook status about getting harassed on Twitter. Emma says a woman wearing a "Make America Great Again" hat called Bridget a slur, and asked her followers to spam Bridget. “I’m a total troll so I photoshopped a Trump-style “Black Lives Matter" hat and offer[ed] it up as a Twitter avatar to confuse racists,” Emma told Teen Vogue. When Bridget asked to buy it, Emma found a custom apparel site, designed the hat, and ordered two right away. The rest, as they will say, made history.

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Bridget received some pretty wild responses to her hat. “I live in a really diverse and progressive part of DC, so wearing the hat around my neighborhood got a lot of double takes and people busting out in laughter when they realized it wasn't an actual Trump hat,” she said. “It would be surprising to see someone in a Trump hat in my neighborhood, let alone a Black woman in a Trump hat.”

While she’s gotten a few hateful responses (someone called her "trash"), she’s had a lot of interesting conversations with Trump supporters, too. She ran into a family in full-on Trump gear who waved at her furiously until they got a closer look at her hat. But Bridget said they actually ended up chatting for a bit.

EmmaTolkin.com

“The mother said she thought my hat was disrespectful,” Bridget recalls. “When I asked her who I was disrespecting, she said it was disrespectful to act like Trump is a racist when he is 'good to black people.' They told me that if I learned more about Trump, I would probably support him." Bridget highly doubts that the black community will come around to supporting President Trump during his term in office. “I am particularly afraid of a Trump presidency as a black woman,” she said. “Trump has made it clear how he feels about black people. He isn't interested in black lives or black futures in any kind of meaningful way.  He advocated for bringing back Stop & Frisk, a policy that tramples on the rights of black citizens and has already been deemed unconstitutional. When Steve Bannon was the editor of Breitbart, he helped usher in the racist, sexist, harassment of Saturday Night Live's Leslie Jones and I was disgusted when Trump went on to make him a White House advisor. The harassment of black women shouldn't get you an invitation to the White House. Trump threw people of color under the bus to get elected. It wouldn’t be surprising to me if he continues to do so for the next four years.”

She is optimistic, though, about the activism Trump's presidency has inspired. “Trump has no idea what he's in for when it comes to Black activism against his administration,” she said. “It’ll be more important than ever for the Black Lives Matter movement to hold Trump accountable for his policies. From day one in office, he has signaled how he feels about the movement for black lives by promising to end the “dangerous anti-police atmosphere in America” on his newly unveiled administration website. This is a pretty clear signal of what we can expect for the next four years. Trump has already shown that he believes he can get away with anything. Who better than activists and organizers to make sure that doesn’t end up being the case?  I’m grateful for the many organizations and organizers who are gearing up to fight for Black lives.”

She continued: “Going into a Trump presidency, I think it’s important to remember that feeling sad is okay, but it’s meaningless if it doesn’t come with some kind of action. I urge everyone who is feeling scared or overwhelmed to turn that feeling into something useful. Whether it’s volunteering at a local cause in your town or getting involved in an organization trying to make changes at the federal level, remember that you aren’t powerless and that you have the power the enact real change. I think Trump is counting on us forgetting a lot of what he ran on but I will never forget. I will always remember that he ran on a platform of racism, sexism, and xenophobia.  The day Trump was elected, I made a promise to myself not to ever normalize his administration because the day his kind of hate becomes the norm, that’s the day he’s really won.”

Proceeds from the sale of the Black Lives Matter #MAGA Style Red Hat will benefit charities that Trump hates including the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Southern Poverty Law Center and of course, Black Lives Matter. The hat retails for $40, and is available here.

Related: People Are Boycotting Ralph Lauren for Dressing Melania Trump

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