President Donald Trump marked Black History Month with an event Thursday at the White House that featured several of the Republican’s famous Black supporters. The celebration stands in sharp contrast to Trump’s attacks against diversity programs and discussions of race.

The ceremony comes as the Trump administration has pushed to eradicate diversity programs from the government, which some agencies have interpreted to end the observance of identity-based months.

Trump called Black Americans an "indispensable core of America" at the White House event and decried focusing on 1619, the year the first recorded enslaved Africans arrived on American soil, saying that focus should instead be placed on 1776, the year the U.S. declared its independence.