Trump’s Ellis Island award was not for work ‘within the black community’

politifact

Some posts on social media are countering the accusations of racism against President Donald Trump after his tweet that a group of Democratic congresswomen should "go back" to the "crime infested places from which they came." (All four are citizens, and only one, Rep. Ilhan Omar, was born outside of the U.S. before arriving when she was 10.)

One post points to Trump’s business history in New York as evidence that he looks out for minorities. 

The post, in full, reads:

"There are only 3 people that won the Ellis Island Award for their work within the black community … 1. Rosa Parks 2. Muhammad Ali 3. Donald Trump … yet ‘squad’ wants you to believe he’s racist."

The post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

This claim gets one major thing wrong: While Donald Trump did win the award, called the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, it was not for "work within the black community."

Trump was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 1986, but he was not honored for being one of a handful of recipients who helped the black community – it was for his contributions in real estate. Since then, the Ellis Island Honor Society has honored around 100 Americans each year.

We rate this post False.