Oh good grief, are you really calling into question the ideals of the Ellis Island Award? Like they would pick a guy who is a notorious racist and sex offender just 'cause he build a few hotels? For the FIRST YEAR they started handing out medals?
"Individuals who have made it their mission to share with those less fortunate, their wealth of knowledge, indomitable courage, boundless compassion, unique talents and selfless generosity. They do so while acknowledging their debt to their ethnic heritage as they uphold the ideals and spirit of America."
According to the report, "the winners, a mixture of prominent and relatively unknown citizens, were screened by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations, which was selected for the work by the foundation." The list of recipients describes Trump as "German, developer," Parks as "African-American, activist" and Ali as "African-American, boxer."
According to its website, the Ellis Island Honors Society "honors the importance of immigration to America's prosperity and celebrates the contributions immigrants and their progeny have made to our nation" (
www.eihonors.org/). 1986 was the inaugural year for the Ellis Island Medals of Honor, which are "presented annually to those who have shown an outstanding commitment to serving our nation either professionally, culturally or civically, among other criteria."
Think what you want but Trump has helped folks, from across the spectrum. You can duck and weave all you want that the award citation didn't specifically mention racially loaded terms we would understand today but the very FOUNDATION of the award is to celebrate cultural diversity from immigrants and their positive achievements. Would a notorious racist who specifically excluded blacks or hispanics or whatever from jobs or interacting in his real estate properties be one of THE FIRST PEOPLE to receive it?