Jackie Robinson's Daughter Slams Trump Campaign Ad Featuring Photo of Her Father

The family of Martin Luther King Jr. has also criticized the ad for including a picture of the Civil Rights leader.

Jackie Robinson
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Image via Getty/Hulton Archive

Jackie Robinson

The daughter of Jackie Robinson is criticizing the Trump campaign for using a photo of her father in a political ad. 

Sharon Robinson expressed her family's objections in a tweet Thursday morning, days after the advert was released. She wrote that her father—a Black baseball legend and pioneer for racial justice—held beliefs and principles that did not align with what the Trump campaign stood for. She then demanded the president's team to remove her father's photo from the ad.

"Jackie Robinson's family strongly objects to the use of Jackie Robinson's image," Robinson tweeted. "The Trump campaign is in opposition to all that Jackie Robinson stood for and believed in. We're insulted and demand that his image be removed!"

The ad, titled Say What You Will About America, begins with a series of black-and-white photos from the first half of the 20th century. Many of the images are of American icons, including Native American Olympian Jim Thorpe and Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The ad's tone takes a drastic turn toward the end, when it begins to show photos of burning buildings, an American flag in flames, and "defund the police" messages.

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King's daughter, Bernice King, also criticized the ad in a series of tweets Thursday. She called the spot "insulting" and said it was not reflective of her father's "commitment to creating the #BelovedCommunity."

"My father should not be used in ways strongly misaligned with his vision and values," Bernice King wrote. "... My father was working for an America with leaders who have answered the call to conscience and compassionate action."

It's unclear if the families have legal rights to the images used in the ad.

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