On Monday Donald Trump marked the first day of black history month with a so-called “listening session”, pulling together about a dozen black Americans, virtually all campaign supporters or administration staffers, to inaugurate the month. The meeting, which was only open to the press for about 12 minutes, resembled most of Trump’s interactions with the black community to date: self-referential and placing style ahead of substance, to the chagrin of civil rights advocates.

“It is a total reduction of the White House level of celebrating black history month,” the Rev Al Sharpton, founder of the National Action Network, told the Guardian. “Our last three presidents, at a minimum, would have a celebration where they would have black culture, artists and invited people that represent established civil rights groups.

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“To reduce that to a ‘listening session’ at the Roosevelt Room with people who basically all agree with you, to me is tantamount to an insult,” Sharpton continued.

The event follows a familiar trend for the president. Between the election and inauguration, Trump spent much of his time hosting meetings with representatives on a slew of topics and interest groups. On black issues Trump dialed up retired football stars Ray Lewis and Jim Brown, as well as entertainer and talkshow host Steve Harvey, rather than community activists, civil rights leaders or policy specialists. He also posed for a photo op with Kanye West in the lobby of Trump Tower after the rapper had pledged his support to Trump during several live shows.

“It shows an intellectual insecurity and the reality TV-ization of the White House which is really unhealthy for the country,” Sharpton said. “Black conservative thinkers and constituency leaders have been as isolated as civil rights leaders,” Sharpton added in reference to Trump’s celebrity-centered engagements with black America.

Monday’s meeting was unofficially led by Omarosa Manigault, who was a star of several iterations of Donald Trump’s The Apprentice TV show and is now a communications director in Trump’s White House.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Donald Trump and Kanye West at Trump Tower. Photograph: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Trump began Monday with brief remarks lauding himself for his success earning the black vote in November (he received 8%), and accusing the media of “fake news” for reports that he had removed a bust of Martin Luther King from the Oval Office upon moving in.

“Last month, we celebrated the life of the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr, whose incredible example is unique in American history,” he said. “You read all about Dr Martin Luther King a week ago when somebody said I took the statue out of my office, and it turned out that that was fake news … The statue is cherished. It’s one of the favorite things in the – and we have some good ones. We have Lincoln and we have Jefferson and we have Dr Martin Luther King, and we have – but they said the statue, the bust of Dr Martin Luther King was taken out of the office. And it was never even touched. So I think it was a disgrace, but that’s the way the press is. Very unfortunate. I am very proud now that we have a museum on the National Mall where people can learn about Reverend King, so many other things.”

Trump also commended his guests – along self-interested lines, calling them “great friends and supporters”.

It shows an intellectual insecurity and the reality TV-ization of the White House which is unhealthy for the country Rev Al Sharpton

“I met [Pastor Darrell Scott] when he was defending me on television. And the people that were on the other side of the argument didn’t have a chance,” Trump said, referring to the pastor’s appearances on various news shows to back Trump during the election. The pastor was one of two invitees who served on the board of the “National Diversity Coalition For Trump”.

The meeting, at least the portion open to the press, was devoid of any cultural celebration or references to history beyond Trump’s vague name dropping of a few well-known black American icons. Even these references raised eyebrows. Trump called 19th-century activist, writer and abolitionist Frederick Douglass “an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more”.

Later in the day, Trump’s press secretary, Sean Spicer, was asked about the comment, but shed little light on exactly what Trump meant. “Through the actions and the statements [Trump is] going to make, the contributions of Frederick Douglass will become more and more,” he said.

It’s not surprising that Trump’s “listening session” eschewed the voices of young activists or members of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. Trump has been openly hostile to the movement since before his election, even encouraging physical violence against BLM protesters at his rallies. During his presidential transition, Trump seemed to put BLM “on notice” as part of his concerted emphasis on the rhetoric of “law and order”.

But for older and more established civil rights organizations the snub is far more of a break with tradition. Sharpton said that Trump called him during the presidential transition and asked him for a meeting, which Sharpton declined. “I’m not going to be part of some red carpet photo op,” he said. “I told him you need to meet with all of the leaders of national civil rights organizations. There were seven groups that met quarterly with President Obama,” he said, including the National Urban League, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Black Women’s Roundtable.

The character of the White House black history month celebration was bound to lose some of its luster no matter who took over after Obama. For eight years the nation’s first black president not only celebrated black history and culture each February, he was in fact, creating it by his mere presence in the office. But Sharpton called the level of decline a “dire forecast” for what lies ahead for the black community as it relates to getting an ear in the Trump White House.

“This should not be a meeting of cheerleaders of the president, it should be a meeting celebrating the culture even if there are those that disagree with you,” Sharpton said.