Fact Check-Ellis Island Medal of Honor was given to Trump in 1986, but not for racial justice

Posts on social media claim that former U.S. President Donald Trump was awarded a medal of honor by the Ellis Island Honors Society in 1986 “for contributing to the conditions of inner city [sic] Black youths, standing alongside Muhammad Ali and Rosa Parks.” This claim is partly false: though Trump, along with Ali and Parks, was a recipient of one of the inaugural Ellis Island Medals of Honor, it was given in acknowledgement of his German heritage and his contributions to New York’s business and real estate world, rather than civil rights or racial justice.

A recent post making this claim can be found here , a post shared just before the 2016 U.S. general election can be seen here.

Visible on Getty Images here , the image in the most recent post shows the future president with civil rights icon Rosa Parks, boxer Muhammad Ali, baseball player Joe DiMaggio, musician Victor Borge and singer Anita Bryant after they all received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor on October 27, 1986.