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| Too Black to Join the Tea Party |
| 2010-07-17 |
| Why can't black Americans have a tea party movement of our own? I have never participated in a "tea party" demonstration or rally. Nor do I think I ever will. The reason is simple: I am black and I am proud and no self-respecting black American would ever openly join that conservative movement or support its goals. Right? Besides, your friends would shun you. But read on; she does have two clues that offer some hope I'm exaggerating a bit, but really I'm just channeling a debate that erupted last week. At its annual convention in St. Louis, the NAACP passed a resolution denouncing the "racist element" within the tea party movement. "We don't have a problem with the tea party's existence," explained President Benjamin Jealous. "We have an issue with their acceptance and welcoming of white supremacists into their organizations." They should have a test to belong. We'd like that better. Sarah Palin, the highest-profile tea party supporter, wrote on her Facebook page last week that "the charge that tea party Americans judge people by the color of their skin is false, appalling and is a regressive and diversionary tactic to change the subject at hand." The whole discussion is a prime example of how we have, once again, become a very polarized nation, both politically and racially. I'm supposed to be on the NAACP's side of this argument. I am a member of the nation's oldest black sorority and the founder of a national organization that focuses on professional black women. And I have a book coming out early next year on the unique challenges facing college-educated black women in the United States. I have a lot to lose by lining up with the wrong crowd: I could be pegged an Uncle Tom or a sellout. And so I have been fearful and silent. But I am increasingly uncomfortable staying quiet. But this op-ed might help sell the book. The fact is that I support many of the core goals of the tea party movement, not as a black American - but as an American. Let me be very clear about what I agree with and what I find intolerable. I do not support those who hate my president because he is a black man - and that kind of hatred is often displayed on racially charged and denigrating signs at tea party rallies. I do not support those who spew racial venom, especially when incendiary words come from leaders within the movement, as they did last week from Mark Williams, national spokesman for the Tea Party Express. And I abhor and reject anyone who would spit upon or yell racial epithets at an esteemed public servant such as Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), and other black members of Congress, as But that visceral hatred is not the entirety of the movement. I admire the principle of protesting peaceably against your government. I, too, am fed up by vast unemployment, underemployment, and making do with smaller paychecks and increasingly burdensome taxes. Like many protesters, I agree that the government has gotten too large and has a say over too much of our lives. I think that our nation's immigration laws should be enforced most vigorously. And I agree that capitalism and a strong national defense are the best ways for this great country to continue to thrive, defeat terrorism and lead as the world's sole superpower. Bingo! Give that lady a cigar! These are sentiments that many of my black friends, neighbors and family members share. Although I may be virtually alone among my black peers in saying this publicly, I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. In a recent USA Today/Gallup poll, only 77 percent of people who identified as members of the tea party described themselves as white. And you would't be comfortable in that makeup? Not enough of your skin color, you fear? Or are you suggesting the Tea Party is not as uniformly white as your liberal friends fear? And talking to my friends - fellow black professionals - I hear the same kinds of things: Our taxes are too high, I had to tap into my retirement account, I could lose my home if my husband loses his job, I worry about what kind of future we are leaving our kids with all of this national debt. You're on a roll, sweetheart! Even people who disagree with me don't think that a public war of words over race is the best way forward. "How is condemning the actions of a few white fools in the tea party going to help put food on the table of unemployed black folks?" a black lawyer friend in his late 30s - a staunch Democrat - asked at a recent dinner party. He didn't see how an NAACP resolution was going to create jobs in cities where black men are experiencing unemployment at Great Depression levels. "The NAACP needs to come up with something better than that move," he said. They're a one-trick pony, cupcake. Another friend at the dinner, a black woman who works for a member of Congress, agreed. "We need to wake up. Black folks are hurting bad in this current economy, as are many whites and Hispanics. We better start finding a way to work together and stop all of this racial name-calling," she said. "We need a Rainbow Coalition tea party to set this thing off before we all end up getting dumped in the Boston Harbor." Some do see the Rainbow in the Tea Party. I agree. I got lambasted last week after I wrote a commentary for the Root suggesting that blacks may want to give the tea party movement a second look on substance and perhaps even emulate it. We should, I argued, start our own tea party as a way to protest the historic loss of black wealth since 2007. This did not go over well. How could I take those racist people seriously, some asked. Well, I don't take racists seriously. I am alarmed by the racial animus and incivility that continues to build among our citizenry - on all sides. But such voices do not represent the entire tea party movement. And it's the movement's ideas I take seriously. But she's too black to join. To really move forward, we don't need provocative proclamations and condemnations. We need the NAACP and the tea party leadership alike to come up with tangible solutions, ideas that lessen some of the economic and social pain we are all experiencing. Maybe the NAACP could take control of the Tea Party? Holder could order it up. So why can't black Americans have a tea party movement of our own? That is, why can't we get energized by politicians and proposals that would put people back to work and reduce the burden of taxes? I am all for social programs that feed and help people in rough times, but we need to do more than keep heads above water. Because that'd be racist, not true to the color-blind society you claim you seek? No community is more in need of this message than the black community. It's too bad that the bigots and the bad actors in the tea party movement have drowned out the substance of a message we all should hear. We know some of them are. Too bad you can't get past the color of your skin. |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #12 They just didn't feel comfortable. Get over yourselves. Next. |
| Posted by: hoss 2010-07-17 23:32 |
| #11 Could the Tea Party sue for slander? One of the cool thing about the Tea Party is that it is grass roots and decentralized. There is no neck for liberals to get their hands around. This is a good thing and a bad thing, because the Tea Party has no real ability to sue anyone, either. I kind of like it that way. Let folks slander the Tea Party all they want. I find it hard to believe that rational folks, or even most of the irrational ones, really believe the insane racist allegations. That $100k reward is still out there unclaimed .... |
| Posted by: gorb 2010-07-17 23:15 |
| #10 The Democrats need to found a National Association for the Advancement if Stupid People. They seem to have the stupid vote completely wrapped up. It should be a great win for the Democrats as stupid cuts across all demographic lines. |
| Posted by: crosspatch 2010-07-17 22:09 |
| #9 Our local Tea Party has tried very hard to attract blacks. We've had a number of black speakers, all of whom were enthusiastically welcomed. We've had some blacks attend events and they were generally positive about our goals and their experience, but did not join. They just didn't feel comfortable. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2010-07-17 16:52 |
| #8 If they are concerned about the direction they see things going...maybe they ought to stop voting for Democrats. Since ~90% of Blacks vote in lock-step for the 'crats, they have been a major contributor to the current problem. |
| Posted by: Hupase Guelph5067 2010-07-17 13:23 |
| #7 So why can't black Americans have a tea party movement of our own? I dunnoÂ…maybe itÂ’s just me. But does anybody else think itÂ’s just a tad ironic that someone who is musing about starting a movement based exclusively on race is calling other people bigots? AnyhooÂ…if she gets her gig off the ground IÂ’d be interested. IÂ’m looking to start tea party movement exclusively for Eskimos. Not that IÂ’m Aleutian or anything. But I wouldnÂ’t mind discussing the perils of an over reaching government while (legally) putting some wood to those baby seals. |
| Posted by: DepotGuy 2010-07-17 12:13 |
| #6 Awesome outreachery in the comments. Kudos all around. /Big tent |
| Posted by: Shipman 2010-07-17 12:07 |
| #5 A good argument is to specifically point out how “indentured” the NAACP is to big government. How big government is no longer the servant of the people, all the people, but tries to be master over the people. By embracing big government, the NAACP is telling black America to “take up chains and bind your arms and legs”, to become a “coffle” of slaves driven to market. To be owned as “chattels” of the government. Searching for “equality in slavery” is a fools errand. Does the NAACP favor that if people of other races are slaves as well, that slavery is acceptable to black people? Do the leaders of the NAACP think they will be the overseers who drive black and white slaves with whips? Do they think that the big government slaveholders will be so generous as to “manumit” them if they vote reliably every election for their masters? In its beginnings, the NAACP tried to uplift black people. Then it tried to get them something for nothing from the government. But it was a deal with the devil, and the devil has come to collect his evil due. Black people can keep their freedom, but only if they earn it by turning away from big government. Being free means being on your own. Otherwise you will have a rope put around your neck, and you ear will be cut, to show that you have become a slave, as is the Biblical invective. "Then you shall take an awl, and put it through his ear into the door, and he shall be your slave forever. And to your female slave you shall do the same." |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-07-17 11:32 |
| #4 Why do they segregate themselves? Even suggesting they need a tea party of their own is a bit racist. If the author and her friends joined the tea-party movement their numbers would drown out the silly white racist elements. Unfortunately they refuse. Very odd. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2010-07-17 11:10 |
| #3 Then they have to put up with garbage like this: http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/stephen-glass-redux-thinkprogress-org-publishes-completely-fraudulent-video-labeling-tea-partiers-racists/?singlepage=true Could the Tea Party sue for slander? |
| Posted by: miscellaneous 2010-07-17 10:34 |
| #2 ..I have never participated in a "tea party" demonstration or rally.....I do not support those who hate my president because he is a black man - and that kind of hatred is often displayed on racially charged and denigrating signs at tea party rallies. If one has never attended a rally how could one know that such signs are often displayed? Other than buying the State Controlled Media play of their narrative, aided and abetted by verified plants, agent provocateurs. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2010-07-17 10:30 |
| #1 What a load of junk science fiction. Now, here's something real. |
| Posted by: Ready to Upchuck 2010-07-17 09:25 |