Some members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Individuals think the Tea Party is racist. A resolution condemning the Tea Party for racism was up for a vote Tuesday at the NAACP convention in Kansas City. Some Tea Party members countered by saying the NAACP is racist. The NAACP resolution is meaningless, said a leader of the black community in Atlanta, who things the Tea Party’s grass roots movement is an example that should be followed.
Tea Party racists caught on film
Tea Party racism is an assumption some have formed in response to media coverage showing Tea Party posters of President Obama. The fact black congressmen were spit on by Tea Party members during the health care reform debate hasn’t been good PR either. The NAACP resolution, as outlined by the Washington Post, declares that “the racist elements” within the Tea Party are “a threat to progress” and that Tea Party protesters “displayed signs and posters intended to degrade people of color typically and President Barack Obama specifically”.
Tea Party comeback – NAACP is racist
The Tea Party is challenged by the NAACP resolution to admit some of its members are racist and to curb their enthusiasm. The resolution also accuses the Tea Party of opposing programs that aid working people and minorities. The Los Angeles Times reports that two Tea Party leaders said Tea Party racism came from a couple of bad actors and not the movement itself. Racism won’t be tolerated at Tea Party rallies, said Jenny Beth Martin of the online network Tea Party Patriots, but she also admitted that racism had been evident at past Tea Party protests. Mary Meckler, one more member of the Tea Party Patriots, told the Times the NAACP is racist and that accusing the Tea Party of racism was “ironic”.
Tea Party a role model? The NAACP
Charing Ball, a black media personality in Atlanta, said that whether the debate is about Tea Party racism or NAACP racism, the NAACP is missing the point. Ball doesn’t question the sincerity of the NAACP Tea Party resolution. But he wonders why, writing within the Atlanta Post, the NAACP is spinning its wheels on meaningless gestures rather than getting its hands dirty for real racial justice. The NAACP could be better, Ball said, by following the example of the Tea Party. It should start grassroots organizing, rallying voters and training and nurturing young candidates to meet the needs of the black community in the 21st century.
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